RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers are set to meet Monday to consider legislation that would roll back cash bail reform by requiring individuals with prior violent offenses to pay cash bail, according to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom that covers the U.S. criminal justice system.
The proposal comes after the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a commuter train in August. The killing, captured in widely shared footage, was seized on by right-wing political figures, including President Donald Trump, as evidence that lenient cash bail policies allow violent offenders to walk free.
But critics say the legislation would not have prevented Zarutska’s death. “It’s not clear that the newly proposed bill, had it been law at the time, could have prevented Zarutska’s death,” a North Carolina judge said in the press release, noting that the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor misuse of 911 is only 120 days. The accused, Decarlos Brown, would have been released by April, months before the August attack.
The Republican-controlled legislature is expected to advance the measure, but a veto by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein remains possible.
The debate in North Carolina mirrors moves in other states. Earlier this summer, Texas passed bipartisan laws limiting pretrial release by restricting eligibility for cashless bonds. Texas voters will also weigh a constitutional amendment banning cash bail for people accused of certain violent offenses.
At the same time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging Harris County reforms enacted after a 2017 ruling found the county’s bail system “violated the constitutional rights of poor people who could not afford to purchase their freedom.” That ruling led to a federal agreement reshaping misdemeanor bail in Harris County. Paxton is seeking to vacate that agreement.
The Texas Civil Rights Corps said these efforts reflect broader political trends. The group argued that Texas bail reform changes “mirrored an executive order signed by Trump in late August aimed at cracking down on jurisdictions with ‘cashless bail’ pretrial release.” Under Trump’s order, jurisdictions that limit cash bail for certain crimes could lose access to federal funding unless they change their policies.
Following that order, the U.S. House and Senate introduced similar proposals. Nicole Zayas Manzano, deputy director of policy at The Bail Project, a nonprofit advocating for the end of cash bail, said the bills are “getting at the idea of increasing pretrial detention wherever possible.” The press release noted that “the deeper goal may be keeping more people in jail, rather than preserving any specific feature of the current system.”
With Republicans controlling Congress and Trump making the issue a priority, the North Carolina proposal is likely to gain traction.
Though research on cash bail remains incomplete, most studies indicate eliminating it does not lead to higher crime rates. Other research has concluded that expanding pretrial release reduces the likelihood of people committing future offenses.
The debate, however, remains sharply divided along partisan lines. Sharone Mitchell, Jr., chief public defender of Cook County, said in the press release, “I don’t think there’s really much logic or much policy behind Trump’s declaration.” She added, “I really do think this is much more about politics. It’s about getting over a blue state.”
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