Iryna Zarutska / 2002-2025

[Ken]

Quite an analysis you have there.

Property and sales taxes are higher than they’ve ever been in nominal terms, absolute terms, millage terms, and percentage terms. Why do they need to be even higher to have the same level of criminal justice functioning as was normal 50 years ago?

Just saying, if you do criminal justice on the cheap this is what you get.

I doubt that it takes forever to get to trial simply because judges are lazy and leaving their courtrooms empty for weeks at a time. Their dockets are full. Fixing that takes money.

[ohio jones]

It's not really the criminal justice system so much as the state and local government. Jailing people and trying people takes a LOT of money and a lot of staff. Most states don't fund those things anywhere near they need to in order to have speedy trials and lock people up. So, you know, legislatures have to cough up more money and people need to pay more taxes. Around here our jails are pretty full but they are way short on staff because they don't pay enough. So they don't really have any place to put new criminals unless the let others out on bail. But no one wants to raise the sales tax and property taxes in order to pay for such things.

Just saying, if you do criminal justice on the cheap this is what you get.

I doubt that it takes forever to get to trial simply because judges are lazy and leaving their courtrooms empty for weeks at a time. Their dockets are full. Fixing that takes money.

Instead of compassion for a family in difficult circumstances, you want to talk about taxes?

[JohnH]

Quite an analysis you have there.

Property and sales taxes are higher than they’ve ever been in nominal terms, absolute terms, millage terms, and percentage terms. Why do they need to be even higher to have the same level of criminal justice functioning as was normal 50 years ago?

Just saying, if you do criminal justice on the cheap this is what you get.

I doubt that it takes forever to get to trial simply because judges are lazy and leaving their courtrooms empty for weeks at a time. Their dockets are full. Fixing that takes money.

I am proposing that if a family is being held in terror by a drug addicted lunatic with upcoming trial dates in a few weeks and months for grand theft auto, domestic violence, food stamps fraud, and a drug related DUI, along with committing actual crimes of stealing their family’s groceries for the week, stealing the innocent spouse’s wallet and cash, and continually looking for any tools to go pawn / sell for drug money (the latter 3 the police are unwilling to charge the assailant for), perhaps this person should simply be held in jail until the trial.

I don’t think it’s a problem of money. However, if money is what stands in the way of drug addicts being held in jail, then I suggest work camps be established so that people held in jail work productively. This person has no cash to pay a bond - not even a modest $1,000 one.

When this person is sent to jail, they dry out and are reasonable for a day or two when they are released. Once they go back to using drugs, they resume being a violent lunatic. This person isn’t willing to do anything like rehab or a treatment center and isn’t eligible for a drug diversion court due to not complying with past terms of probation. Despite violating their probation for a past conviction, they continue to be re-released to re-offend.

The total cost to the state to incarcerate someone is around $99 per day. I think work could be provided to earn $99 per day. I keep hearing about how we have shortages of cheap, unskilled labor. Prison is a very sad thing but I don’t know what else can be done for someone who has chosen to be addicted to methamphetamine and is violent.

The innocent spouse tried to pack up the whole family and move back to Mexico hoping to get away from the drugs and have a fresh start… but the children were very afraid to go since they were all born here and speak less Spanish than I do. Imagine a situation where Mexico is safer / less access to drugs than America.

[Ken]

It's not really the criminal justice system so much as the state and local government. Jailing people and trying people takes a LOT of money and a lot of staff. Most states don't fund those things anywhere near they need to in order to have speedy trials and lock people up. So, you know, legislatures have to cough up more money and people need to pay more taxes. Around here our jails are pretty full but they are way short on staff because they don't pay enough. So they don't really have any place to put new criminals unless the let others out on bail. But no one wants to raise the sales tax and property taxes in order to pay for such things.

Just saying, if you do criminal justice on the cheap this is what you get.

I doubt that it takes forever to get to trial simply because judges are lazy and leaving their courtrooms empty for weeks at a time. Their dockets are full. Fixing that takes money.

Instead of compassion for a family in difficult circumstances, you want to talk about taxes?

I have compassion for families in difficult circumstances.

JohnH is blaming the criminal justice system for this situation. I'm simply providing context for why the system is often slow and unresponsive No one wants to pay for government until they need it for their specific circumstance. I get that.

[Ken]

I was actually on jury duty last spring in a very very similar case to what JohnH described. Except that it wasn't a Mexican family it was a Russian immigrant family. And the actual case being tried was repeated violations of a restraining order. Even though the guy sounded similarly degenerate. Under WA law the first and second violations of restraining orders are misdemeanors and then the third is a Class C felony with up to 5 years prison time. This was the husband's 3rd violation so we were essentially deciding whether or not to send him to prison. Although it would be the judge imposing the sentence not us.

The woman was actually a very bad witness. Horrible in fact. Her stories were somewhat inconsistent which the defense picked apart. And it felt like she mostly wishfully wanted to reconcile with him and not send him to prison. The state was trying him not so much because the woman was wanting to press charges. But because it is very much in the state's interest to enforce restraining orders so that all women are protected and abusive men don't come to see restraining orders as toothless and voluntary.

We took nearly a day of deliberations to convict. There were two older men who were holdouts and unwilling to send a man to prison based on somewhat sketchy testimony from the state's only witness. It felt like both of them had bad experiences with women in the past and were very untrusting of women. The state had other evidence such as cell phone logs but their one witness was pretty bad. We eventually did end up convicting but it was touch and go and could easily have ended deadlocked with a mistrial except that the judge forced us to keep deliberating and eventually the two holdouts caved.

That is another reason why these cases are often very difficult to resolve and men get set free who shouldn't be. Trials are long and expensive and even when the cases are solid they can turn out not to be so solid when put under scrutiny. Juries don't have the whole story. Only the evidence in front of them which is often not that great. And witnesses can often be very bad and give conflicting testimony when a defense attorney starts to pick them apart.

[temporal1]

WCNC / “New butterfly species named after Charlotte stabbing victim Iryna Zarutska”
Celastrina iryna, or "Iryna's Azure," inhabits the southeastern coastal plain region of the United States.
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local ... 5f26dd2561

[R7ehr]

WCNC / “New butterfly species named after Charlotte stabbing victim Iryna Zarutska”
Celastrina iryna, or "Iryna's Azure," inhabits the southeastern coastal plain region of the United States.
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local ... 5f26dd2561

I’m shocked that they discovered a new butterfly in that area in this day and age.

[temporal1]

I HOPE I’M WRONG.

My impression is, possibly beginning before IZ’s murder, and continuing, young women, and any age women, are being brutally attacked, a lot like The Knockout Game, more violent, using knives, fire, clubs .. The Knockout Game was usually fists thrown against unsuspecting males. There were some serious injuries and deaths.

Seattle / 'He Usually Punches': Homeless Repeat Offender Blinds Elderly Woman With Nail Through Her Eye / -4min
https://rumble.com/v73cepa-he-usually-p ... nail-.html

MBaer had a topic on The Knockout Game.

Chicago / Who Is Bethany MaGee? Woman Set on Fire on Chicago Train Identified
https://www.newsweek.com/who-is-bethany ... d-11096277

Charlotte NC / Federal authorities give update on recent attacks on commuter trains in Charlotte, North Carolina / 1+min

[temporal1]

2026 Due Process / “Investigative integrity”

DECARLOS BROWN JR

Iryna Zarutska May 22 2002-August 22 2025

Jan 16 2026 / Charlotte NC
“Federal magistrate prevents further release of investigative materials tied to deadly Charlotte light rail stabbing”
Attorneys for DeCarlos Brown Jr. filed a motion on Jan. 15, 2026.
Government attorneys joined the motion as well, citing investigative integrity.
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime ... 0876edc3bf

Sept 2025 / Newsweek / Decarlos Brown Jr. Criminal Record: What We Know About Suspect in Charlotte Stabbing
https://www.newsweek.com/decarlos-brown ... ng-2126423

Public scrutiny of Decarlos Brown Jr., who has been charged with killing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, has intensified as records show he had been arrested 14 times and was known by authorities to have schizophrenia, according to local media.

The North Carolina judicial system is facing criticism, with questions over how a repeat offender with documented mental health issues was able to remain free and allegedly go on to commit murder.
Brown has been charged with first-degree murder in the August 22 attack. A video released by the Charlotte Area Transit System shows Zarutska sitting on the train shortly before Brown allegedly stood up and stabbed her in the neck from behind with a folding knife. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
CMPD said in a statement to Newsweek: "Brown was interviewed by Homicide detectives before being transferred to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. Brown is charged with First Degree Murder. Ms. Zarutska's family has been notified of this case update."

Why It Matters
The killing of Zarutska has become more than a local tragedy. It has raised urgent questions about how courts and mental health systems handle repeat offenders such as Brown, whose 14 prior arrests and schizophrenia diagnosis were documented long before the fatal attack. The case also sits at the center of a broader national debate over public transit safety, the adequacy of mental health interventions, and criminal justice reform.

Politically, it feeds directly into President Donald Trump's tough-on-crime rhetoric and his plans to deploy the National Guard in major, Democratic-run cities. The viral video of the stabbing has also shifted attention from other national storylines, including the controversy over Jeffrey Epstein's case files and negative economic statistics—developments that could make it harder for Democrats to push back without appearing soft on crime.

If Mr Brown had been incarcerated or in a mental facility on prior charges, Iryna Zarutska would not have been murdered last year.

[temporal1]

2026 SOTU

Iryna’s grieving mother stood next to helpless Erika Kirk and others grieving heavy losses.
It was hard not to break down.

These atrocities happen too often.
Iryna’s distinction is how the tragedy is taped, before, during, after, displaying the bitter truth of what happens.
It happened to me, age 29, randomly attacked from behind, no provocation, no lashing out, i survived, otherwise, there it is.
On tape. Absolutely ignored.

It would have been so easy for my neck to be slashed that night. i knew it instantly and feared for my life.
His hands were right there, i had no defense, didn’t think of defense. i wanted to be away! my one thought.

Last night, Dems simply reflected everyday life in media+politics. Ignoring hard reality for cold personal gain.
Law schools are set up for criminal defense. That’s where the money is. $$$$

“Filthy rich” has dark meaning.

Certan republicans have engaged in disruptive behavior as well...........
Maybe they get their orders from the Koch brothers.

Democrats have been completely shameful during the whole night. Instead of honoring people they should have, including the Angel Families who lost loved ones & others the President was honoring they sat there like a bunch of sour grapes, showing their lack of care & compassion.
He really is honoring so many tonight it’s amazing-

The Democrats true colors were shown when they refused to stand for the grieving parents of Iryna Zarutska, the young woman who was minding her own business, was attacked and had her throat slashed by an evil man. Then left to bleed out on the train floor. Her killer had been arrested 14 times before yet was free to kill Iryna. Democrats refusing to stand, showing compassion and empathy for these very hurting parents, appears to come from some very dark hearts. You would think they could have put their hatred for Trump aside for one moment, see beyond him and see the grieving parents of Iryna. But they couldn't do it.

Other instances they refused to stand, for the U.S. Hockey team
and for Andrew Wolfe, who was shot in the head and received a purple heart.

It’s fun to see young men excelling and enjoying themselves. They are so beautiful and able. God created.
God bless them.