The New Neo

I saw a link to an article about the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska back when it happened a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t click on it because one can’t follow everything, and I figured it was a more “ordinary” murder (for example, boyfriend or stalker or robber), if any murder can be called ordinary. She was clearly a beautiful young woman and her murder a terrible crime and tragedy, but there wouldn’t be any particular reason to write a post about it.

Now that a horrifying surveillance video of the crime – which occurred on public transport in Charlotte, NC, and was an utterly unprovoked attack by a stranger who had a long history of crime and mental illness – has been released, it’s big news on the right but the MSM is still either ignoring it or using the “racist Republicans pounce!” angle.

The perp (Decarlos Brown, Jr.) is black and the victim white, but it’s the mental health element and the well-known dangerousness of the perp, plus the sudden switch to murderous action which happens in an instant, that gets the attention of the right. Crime is a big big issue; who on earth would want to defend such an action, or rationalize it away? The left, which says (among other things), oh, crime is down in Charlotte.

Who cares? We’ve come to be suspicious of such statistics, which can be easily manipulated by downgrading criminal acts, as happened in DC. But even beyond that, a statistic can be down from a previous high without being something people want to tolerate, and being stabbed and murdered on a local train by a perp who is a schizophrenic with a bad criminal history isn’t tolerable to most people.

Here’s the more common response:

The nightmarish video from Charlotte, N.C. of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska being murdered by a psychopath who was roaming freely thanks to the Democrats’ violent felon fetish is sickening and infuriating.

Of course, if the races of perp and victim had been reversed, you know that the left would have demanded the killer be treated very harshly and the crime would have been big big big news in the MSM.

For me, the questions are: what was the perp’s actual history? Could this crime have been predicted? Did his situation prior to this warrant much longer incarceration? And if so, where? What was the nature of his prior criminal acts? Were they violent? The answer to that last question is yes, they were:

Records obtained by The New York Post showed that Brown has a history of arrests going back more than a decade, including charges of felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats.

More [emphasis mine]:

Brown has been arrested a slew of times since 2011 for felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats, according to court records obtained by The Post.

He is homeless and served five years in prison for the robbery with a deadly weapon charge, according to WSOC-TV.

So he was in prison for at least one of the charges, and it was a significant sentence. How long can people with mental illnesses who have criminal records be kept behind bars? Should it be longer than their sentences, and should their incarceration be in a mental hospital, or a facility for the criminally insane (some still exist, although they’re now called “forensic psychiatric hospitals”)? It doesn’t seem that Brown was ever sent to one, but perhaps he should have been (see this for North Carolina’s facilities). It seems that someone – or many people -dropped the ball:

The alleged killer, however, currently has pending charges for misuse of the 911 system in January following a police welfare check — which revealed his troubling thoughts, the outlet [Charlotte Observer] reported.

Brown told authorities during the visit he believed someone had given him a “man-made” material that controlled when he ate, walked, and talked, an affidavit obtained by the newspaper said.

“Brown wanted officers to investigate this ‘man-made’ material that was inside of his body,” the affidavit said.

Officers then advised Brown that he was suffering a medical issue, and there was nothing more they could do to help him.

He became upset over their response and called 911. He was arrested after he hung up the phone, the outlet reported.

More [emphasis mine]:

His mother has said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia following his release from prison for an armed robbery conviction. She said the courts failed by allowing her son to be out in the community despite knowing about his previous criminal history and mental health issues.

Brown has past convictions for armed robbery, felony larceny, breaking and entering, and shoplifting, WBTV reported.

According to WSOC-TV reporter Joe Bruno, Brown’s mother said that she had her son evaluated when his behavior became aggressive. This followed his release from prison after he had served more than five years for armed robbery.

She got an involuntary commitment order and he was placed under psychiatric monitoring for two weeks and diagnosed with schizophrenia, Bruno wrote on X. She said that he became so aggressive after his release that she had to kick him out of her home, so he became homeless.

Apparently, she wanted him committed and he was “monitored” (whatever the consisted of) for two weeks. Then – nothing? It says “after his release” he became very aggressive – does that mean after his release from prison, or from the hospital? I think the former, and it doesn’t seem he was ever in a mental hospital, although it’s hard to tell.

I also seems he was never judged incompetent to stand trial [emphasis mine]:

Brown’s public defender had filed a motion [after the 911 arrest] questioning Brown’s “capacity to proceed” in the case. A judge then ordered a forensic evaluation, which was never done, Queen City News reported.

How much time had elapsed? Was it ever going to be done? More:

Randy Fine, a Republican, wrote on X: “I’m going to introduce legislation to hold judges accountable when violent repeat offenders they release commit new crimes. It’s easy to release criminals when you’re protected by an armed bailiff at all times. The rest of us aren’t so lucky. Those 12+ judges that released Decarlos Brown Jr. should have their day in court too.”

Elon Musk wrote on X: “Let’s change the law. Between now and then, name and shame the DAs and judges who enable murder, rape and robbery. But especially shame those who funded the campaigns of the DAs and judges. That will make the biggest difference.”

I disagree. You can’t expect them to be perfect prognosticators, even if a release seems egregious. And in this case, he wasn’t released early, and the judge later did order an evaluation. Why wasn’t it done in a timely fashion?

Liberty is important too. Where to draw the line is the question; it’s an old one and a difficult one. Funds are needed for all of this, too.

At least at present Brown was denied bond. And guess what? Maybe this time they really will evaluate him for competence to stand trial (which is very different, by the way, from not guilty by reason of insanity because it takes place before the trial):

Brown’s lawyer said he will file a motion for an evaluation of Brown’s competency to stand trial because of his “long history” of mental health issues, WSOC reported. Brown appeared for the brief hearing via video. He wore an orange jail uniform, a face mask and his right hand wrapped in gauze from an injury during the attack.

This is also a case that illustrates a failure to apply the broken windows approach. See this [emphasis mine]:

I spoke with District Attorney Spencer Merriweather this week. He is limited in what he can say about this particular case, but he made clear that the system is full of gaps. Repeat offenders who pile up “lower-level” charges can still cycle in and out. Defendants with severe mental illness can sometimes be released when they’re found incompetent to stand trial, even if everyone knows they’re a danger to the public. “It is unreal,” Merriweather told me. He’s right.

In the meantime, there are things to do immediately. I spoke with former Mayor Pat McCrory, who pioneered both transit and public safety over seven terms as mayor. He put it plainly: “Public safety has to be the No. 1 objective in transit, and it obviously is not.” When Charlotte chose not to install fare gates, it made a different bargain: enforce payment another way. Failing to do so creates an environment where rules don’t matter, turning trains and platforms into places to loiter, and in some cases, to prey. That culture of permissiveness has to end. Riders should know every person on that train has paid to be there. CMPD and CATS must post a visible security presence on platforms and trains. And judges must stop releasing violent offenders back into the community on little more than a promise.

A perfect storm that led to this heinous crime. RIP, Iryna Zarutska.

[NOTE: I’ve written previously about the history of the mental hospital de-institutionalization movement. Please see this.]