North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signs an executive order on state government’s use of artificial intelligence on Sept. 2, 2025. (Photo by Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
Gov. Josh Stein signed a Republican-led bill aimed at addressing violent crime in North Carolina on Friday, praising its changes to the pre-trial release process but decrying changes to the death penalty that he described as “barbaric.”
The bill, titled “Iryna’s Law,” is named for a Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska, who was killed on public transit in Charlotte in late August. It limits pre-trial release option for those accused of violent crimes, ramps up scrutiny of court magistrates and streamlines the death penalty process. It also directs the state to pursue alternative methods of execution, among other measures.
Stein, a Democrat, signed the bill hours before it would become law automatically, 10 days after passage. In the interim, Republicans have repeatedly called for him to take action on it.
“Iryna’s Law alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail,” Stein said in a video explaining his decision to sign the bill. “That’s a good thing, and why I have signed it into law.”
Late changes to the bill, led by Senate President Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), require the state to find alternate execution methods if the current process of lethal injection is found to be unconstitutional. Stein called that “barbaric.”
“There will be no firing squads in North Carolina during my time as governor,” Stein said.
Executions have been on pause in North Carolina for almost 20 years, tied up by legal and regulatory challenges. The bill’s new language means that when the courts do eventually rule on the practice, the Department of Adult Corrections would adopt another method used by another state. That could include a firing squad or the electric chair.
Stein also expressed broader concerns with the legislation — criticizing, as some legislative Democrats did, a “lack of ambition or vision.”
He expressed support for a “red flag” law, urging “comprehensive background checks” for “violent criminals and dangerous people,” as well as allowing law enforcement to “remove a gun from someone who is a danger to others or themselves.”
“We can respect people’s second amendment rights while also ensuring that anyone who is violent or dangerously mentally ill does not have access to guns,” Stein said.
And he called on lawmakers to return to Raleigh this month to “fix our mental health care system for the long haul,” and agree on a plan to fully fund Medicaid in the state.
The bill saw bipartisan, veto-proof support in the House, earning votes from every Republican and 17 Democrats. It was far more divisive in the Senate, where a majority of Democrats walked out of the vote in protest of the amendment adding the death penalty language.
Republicans have touted the bill as key to cracking down on violent crime and preventing repeat offenders, while laying the groundwork to resume capital punishment for the first time in decades.
House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) has said Zarutska’s killing was a “tragic reminder” that led to lawmakers drawing up what he has called “some of the strongest tough-on-crime reforms in North Carolina history.”
Democrats, including some of those who voted for the bill, have said it lacks critical measures and would not have prevented Zarutska’s death. They lobbied unsuccessfully for the legislation to include new funding for mental health services and infrastructure, as well as to train law enforcement and magistrates.
“You can’t spend pocket change on a multi-billion dollar problem,” Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) said during debate. “But that’s exactly what our Republican colleagues did today.”
The law takes effect immediately.