‘Iryna’s law’ explained as murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian woman prompts state to consider controversial new execution rules

New criminal justice legislation could see the killer of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska be executed by controversial means.

The new law, dubbed 'Irnya's law', has been signed by North Carolina’s governor in honour of the 23-year-old who was tragically murdered in August.

It passed on October 3 and is set to become effective later this year, on December 1.

For those unfamiliar with the horrific story, Irnya was stabbed to death while travelling on a train after a shift in Charlotte, North Carolina.

On 22 August, shortly before 10pm, Iryna was travelling on the Lynx Blue Line near the Camden Road area in Charlotte's South End, when Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, repeatedly stabbed her from behind.

She was later pronounced dead at the scene, while Brown Jr, who had a criminal history including robbery and larceny convictions and had been arrested 14 times, was charged with first-degree murder.

Her family are 'heartbroken' and the brutal murder has sparked outrage around the world, as well as prompting the criminal justice reforms in North Carolina.

'Iryna's law' also known as HB 307, will come into effect in North Carolina later this year (Instagram/@lucaveros225)

What is Irnya's law?

'Irnya's law,' also known as House Bill 307, is a sweeping piece of criminal justice legislation which will make some big changes in the US state.

Most notably, it includes an amendment that allows North Carolina to resume executions, including methods other than lethal injection.

While it is legal, as per WTVD, the death penalty has been paused in North Carolina since 2006 due to a series of lawsuits challenging the fairness and humanity of the capital punishment system.

It also introduced an amendment that would allow death row inmates to be executed via firing squad, which would be a huge change as lethal injection is currently the only authorised method of execution in the state.

The Death Penalty Information Centre says: "If lethal injec­tion is deemed uncon­sti­tu­tion­al, the new bill adds pro­vi­sions that allow the use of any exe­cu­tion method approved by anoth­er state, so long as the US Supreme Court has not declared the method to be uncon­sti­tu­tion­al. The US Supreme Court has nev­er found a method of exe­cu­tion to be unconstitutional.”

Decarlos Brown Jr murdered the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee on 22 August (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department)

The amendment also 'removes the prohibition against electrocution and lethal gas'.

On top of this, the reforms will require death penalty appeals to be heard within two years of filing, making the entire process quicker.

This time­line would require North Carolina courts to hear and decide near­ly all of the state’s death row cas­es within the next two years.

According to WCNC, the state of North Carolina currently has 122 inmates on death row.

If agreed, the reform will also mean some dangerous offenders will be denied bail without cash, judges' authorities in pretrial releases will be affected, and more regular mental health evaluations for defendants will be required.

It modifies provisions relating to post-conviction relief and 'adds the crime occurring while the victim is on public transportation as an aggravating factor'.

Iryna's tragic death sparked outrage around the world (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)

What have politicians said about Irnya's law?

Speaking of the bill on Friday (3 Oct), Democratic Governor Josh Stein said: "House Bill 307, or ‘Iryna’s Law,’ alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail.

"That’s a good thing and why I have signed it into law."

However, despite signing the bill, Stein is supposedly against the firing squad's inclusion, previously stating there 'will be no firing squads in North Carolina during my time as governor'.

While New Hanover County Republican Chairman John Hinnant argued: "The capital punishment by firing squad is not a new concept. There have been so many challenges to medical capital punishment versus the gas chamber.

"Science is constantly changing, but one thing that hasn’t changed in science is what happens with the firing squad."

Hinnant continued: "I think we need to make the results and the punishment real. People need to know they’re going to feel it. While it’s an old practice, it’s been deemed reliable as a deterrent."