Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against DeCarlos Brown Jr. for the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutka.
Speaking to Jesse Watters of Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “I plan on signing a warrant to seek the death penalty in that case. He had been arrested 14 times, Jesse, as you know, and should have been in jail when he murdered that beautiful, innocent young woman.”
Charges faced by Brown in light of his indictment by a federal grand jury make him eligible for the death penalty.
Drawing attention to the matter on X, Bondi noted that “a grand jury in North Carolina returned an indictment for DeCarlos Brown Jr., who viciously killed Iryna Zarutska on the light rail in Charlotte.”
“He was walking free because of soft-on-crime policies,” she wrote. “Our prosecutors will not rest until we get justice for Iryna.”
Following Zarutka’s death, President Trump urged prosecutors to seek the death penalty. “The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY,” he wrote on Truth Social. “There can be no other option!!!”
Trump also condemned policies within Democrat-run cities for enabling criminal activity, stating that Americans have been “forced to put up with” cities that “set loose savage, bloodthirsty criminals to prey on innocent people.”
Discussing the horror of her death, the president stated, “We cannot allow a depraved criminal element of violent repeat offenders to continue spreading destruction and death throughout our country. We have to respond with force and strength. We have to be vicious, just like they are. It’s the only thing they understand.”
