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The Power of Narratives in American Criminal Policy
Photo by Sebastian Pichler via unsplash
The Story of Iryna Zarutska
On August 22, 2025, Iryna Zarutska boarded the Lynx Blue Line of the Charlotte Light Rail in North Carolina.[1] About four and a half minutes later, at around 21:50 PM, the passenger sitting behind her drew a knife and stabbed Iryna in the neck three times. By the time the police arrived, Iryna was already dead, and her attacker, Decarlos Brown, was arrested on the scene.
At the time of her death, Iryna was only 22-years old. Having fled war-torn Ukraine in 2022, she had recently moved to North Carolina in search for a better future—a future that was taken away from her in an incident that would place Iryna and her story at the center of a political debate.
Coverage of the incident focused not only on the tragic loss of Iryna’s life, but on the man responsible for it. Brown, a 34-year-old Black man, had an extensive criminal record and a severe history of mental illness.[2] At the time of Iryna’s killing, Brown’s record included fourteen criminal charges, as well as a five-year-long prison sentence for robbery with a dangerous weapon. Details about Brown’s life was used to shape—and ultimately justify—public and political reactions, making Decarlos Brown as central to the public discourse as was the victim.
The most recent charge against Brown involved misuse of 911, arising from a call he made alleging that a “man made material” was controlling him.[3] As a result of the incident, Brown was arrested but was let out on a written promise to appear. It is important to note that prior to calling 911, Brown had asked a police officer for help; the officer who responded to him said that the situation was a medical issue and “there was nothing more they could do.”[4]
Public narratives surrounding the killing of Iryna relied heavily on the contrast between the identity of the victim as a young white Ukrainian woman and that of the perpetrator, a Black man with a heavy criminal record. President Donald Trump’s description of Brown as “the ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine,” [5] exemplifies this framing, demonstrating how racialized and dehumanizing language was used to transform the incident into a vehicle for political mobilization.
Political Responses and the Passage of Iryna’s Law
The case of Iryna Zarutska first attracted media attention following a public statement issued by Charlotte’s Democratic mayor Vi Lyles. In her statement, amongst other things, Lyles stated that she is “not villainising those who struggle with their mental health or those who are unhoused.”[6] Her comment implicitly acknowledged Brown’s history of mental illness and housing instability.
This statement, considered to be sympathetic to Iryna’s murderer, created an opportunity for conservative political figures to criticize not only the mayor’s response, but the overall “soft on crime” policies of the political left. At the forefront of criticism were “failed Democratic policies,” such as cashless bail.[7] Policies of this nature were perceived as factors that led to Iryna’s death, since despite Brown’s criminal record, he was no longer in custody at the time of the killing.
“What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP. The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail... North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it!” President Trump wrote.[8]
“Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” remarked Attorney General Pamela Bondi.[9]
In response, on October 3, 2025, Josh Stein, Governor of North Carolina, signed House Bill 307, titled “Iryna’s Law.”[10] The bill imposes stricter requirements for releasing individuals accused of violent crimes, eliminates cashless bail and creates formal guidelines for mental health evaluations.[11] A significant aspect of the bill concerns changes to North Carolina’s death penalty system.[12] HB 307 puts in place tight timelines for appeals and motions in death penalty cases and adds an aggravating factor in cases where a capital felony is committed against someone on public transportation. Moreover, the bill removes the prohibition against electrocution and lethal gas as methods of execution and includes a provision that allows for the usage of any other execution method approved by another state in case North Carolina’s primary method of execution, lethal injection, is ever deemed unconstitutional.
Many of the bill’s provisions, especially those concerning bail, were justified by the fact that Brown was out of custody on a written promise to appear, a form of bail, at the time he killed Iryna. However, it is important to note that he had been granted bail only for the misdemeanor of misdialing 911, and not a violent crime. Had HB 307 been enacted at the time, Brown would most likely still have been eligible for pretrial release.
Although HB 307 ultimately passed with bipartisan support, the bill received strong criticism. For example, Lorrin Freeman, the Wake County District Attorney, emphasized the need for increased mental health protections and urged that we “have to be careful in these situations not to criminalize poverty.”[13] From within the legislature, Senator Michel Garret in a statement criticized how despite efforts for cooperation, Republicans introduced last-minute provisions regarding the death penalty and accused Republicans of capitalizing on Iryna’s death to promote a “radical” agenda.[14] Other critics highlighted how HB 307 lacks substantive mental health provisions, increases cash-bail inequalities, and opens the door for “outdated, untested and deeply troubling methods” of execution[15].
At first glance, the rapid adoption of Iryna’s law might hint at a justice system that is responsive and adaptive. However the legislation and the circumstances surrounding its passage suggest a deeper truth about criminal law and policymaking, a point underscored by critics. The emotionally charged story of Iryna’s murder, combined with the racialized and criminalized portrayal of her killer, was used as a political tool to frame democratic policies as “failures” and position the current government as a remedy. The resulting law does little to prevent similar crimes from happening in the future, is punitive in nature, and is based on a political agenda rather than crime statistics.
A Broader Pattern: Narrative-Driven Legislation in America
Although Iryna’s murder serves as one of the more blatant examples, the pattern of leveraging tragedies to advance political agendas is far from novel.
A recent example concerns the first piece of legislation signed by President Donald Trump on January 29, 2025: the Laken Riley Act.[16] The Act was enacted as a response to the murder of Riley Laken on February 22, 2024.[17] Riley was running on the campus of the University of Georgia when she was assaulted and killed by Jose Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela.[18]
The Laken Riley Act enables U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain immigrants accused of certain crimes, such as shoplifting or assaulting a law enforcement officer, with no opportunity for release during their immigration case. The Act also broadens the circumstances under which immigrants can be placed into removal proceedings solely based on allegations, rather than convictions, raising significant concerns about due process.[19] According to the National Immigration Project, if fully implemented, the legislation would expand immigration detention capacity by 250%.[20]
The rhetoric used to justify the Act mirrored the narrative patterns used in Iryna’s case.
“It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again,” said President Trump in a statement that illustrates this parallel.[21]
“Laken’s murder falls directly on the shoulders of President Biden. He put politics over the safety of U.S. citizens, and Laken paid for his lust for power with her life,” Brandon Judd, a Border Patrol agent commented.[22]
The death of Laken Riley is undoubtedly a tragedy and questions that arose surrounding public safety are certainly justified. However, although the Laken Riley Act was presented as an effort to increase security, there is no correlation between immigration status and criminality[23], which demonstrates a large deviation from the law’s stated purpose–to protect American communities–and its actual function.[24]
This gap between stated justification and political use was acknowledged even by Riley’s own family. In a heartbreaking statement, Riley father spoke out: “I think it's being used politically to get those votes,” and reminded the public to remember Riley for who she was— “an angel” not a political symbol.[25]
Past examples of legislative agendas pushed through by “anti-crime” narratives include the Anti-Drug Abuse Act and the California “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law.
Just days after being selected to play for the Boston Celtics, and only 22-years-old, Len Bias, was found dead from a cocaine overdose, in a case that became known as an “all American tragedy.”[26] In response to the tragic incident that quickly got the media’s attention, Congress passed the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act. The Act specifically targeted crimes surrounding crack cocaine under the justification that crack had a higher link to crime than powder cocaine and an elevated risk of contributing to the public health epidemic of infants affected by prenatal drug exposure.
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act created a significant disparity between powder and crack cocaine offenses, establishing a 100:1 sentencing ratio that equated one gram of crack cocaine to a hundred of powder cocaine.[27] At the time, crack cocaine was far more prevalent in Black and low-income communities. As a result, in the years following the enactment of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, the number of Black people in federal prison increased from approximately 50 per 100,000 adults to almost 250 per 100,000. At the same time, there was minimal change in the number of white people incarcerated in federal prisons. Moreover, in 1986, Black defendants received 11% longer drug sentences than white defendants. In the years following the Act’s enactment, the disparity increased to 49%.
One of the primary goals of the bill–reducing the exposure of fetuses to crack cocaine–was also unfounded. According to a 2002 report by the United States Sentencing Commission, prenatal crack exposure is no more harmful than powder exposure and far less harmful than previously believed.[28]
However, the tension between the narrative and the evidence is striking; research shows that the effects of crack cocaine compared to powder cocaine are extremely similar.[29] Moreover,
Len Bias, the individual whose name became central to the narrative, did not die because of crack cocaine but powdered.
A similar pattern where a high-profile tragedy led to punitive legislation unfolded a few years later in California. On October 1st, 1993, 12-year-old Polly Klaas was abducted from her house in Petaluma, California. Richard Allen Davis, the individual who kidnapped and later killed Klaas was a repeat offender who had been sentenced to a total of more than 200 years in prison–sentences that were later reduced.[30] His criminal history included multiple prior felony convictions, including armed robberies.[31]
In response to public outrage, the California legislature passed the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law.[32] The sentencing scheme imposed significantly harsh sentences, often resulting in 25-to-life prison terms, for almost any offence if the defendant had two prior convictions for crimes defined as serious or violent by the California Penal Code.[33] In addition, in cases where the defendant had previously been convicted of a serious or violent felony conviction, the sentence for any subsequent felony was doubled.
As with most criminal legislation, Black Californians are disproportionately impacted by three strikes penalties. They are significantly over-represented among those serving third strike enhanced sentences, as well as among those burdened with a double-sentence enhancement. Moreover, out of the incarcerated people with a doubled-sentence enhancement in California, approximately 65% are doing time for non-violent, non-serious crimes.[34]Although the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 modified the law to decrease sentences for third offences that are non-violent, the law continues to negatively impact people.[35]
Notably, Klaas’s sisters, Jess and Annie Nichol, have sought to reclaim their sister’s story from the punitive legacy attached to her death by publicly rejecting the use of their sisters’ name to justify harsh, and unjust sentencing regimes. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, they remind us that “the beauty of Polly’s life shouldn’t be overshadowed by this pervasive injustice.”[36]
The Enduring Politics of “Law and Order”
What unites these laws is not their effectiveness, but the way individual tragedies were politicized and transformed into narratives that advanced punitive criminal justice agendas.
This is not a new phenomenon. The narrative strategies reflected in the cases mentioned above speak to a tradition in American criminal policymaking. As Katherine Becket explains in Making Crime Pay, the rhetoric of “law and order” that places crime as a primary social issue, and punitive legislation as a necessary solution, can be traced back to the civil rights movement, where it served to criminalize movements for racial justice and legitimize state responses. [37] From its origins, “law and order” as well as subsequent variations such as “the war on drugs” or “tough on crime” narratives serve to translate social conflict into criminal punishment.
Today, the case of Iryna Zaratsuka shows how President Trump is continuing the legacy of framing crime through a rhetoric of hate and division. His Agenda47 and Project25, which center around expanding the death penalty, undermining due processes, and politicizing the Department of Justice under narratives of “law and order,” are strikingly similar to efforts in the past, such as the 1970s–80s “tough on crime era.”
These are not policies based on data or science, but on political capital. Policies that led to America being the country with the highest incarceration rates,[38] while at the same time being home to some of the most dangerous cities in the world.[39]
This is not an indictment of all reactive legislation—many effective reforms, such as gun safety measures, have emerged from tragedies. When laws adapt to serve emerging or existing needs based on science and aiming for safety and protection, the results can be beneficial. Rather, the concern is with punitive, narrative-driven policies, such as Iryna’s Law, that exploit tragedy rather than address root causes of harm.
The statistics are clear: criminal legislation in America is failing the people it claims to protect, while disproportionately targeting communities of color. The names might change, but the logic remains the same. Tragedies are politicized, narratives are created, and the legislation that follows neither keeps communities safe nor serves justice for the lives lost.
This is largely caused by a system that emphasizes political narratives and ideology over data; a system that focuses on punishing rather than protecting. It is vital to not only break away from narrative-driven policymaking, but to also understand where such narratives stem from and what ideas they perpetuate. Such steps forward will not only serve legislative purposes but will also challenge deep-rooted ideologies tied to race, fear, and punishment.
[1] United States v. Brown, No. 22-7105 (4th Cir. May 20, 2025)
[2] Kaitlyn Morris, Megan Forrester & Vera Drymon, Mother, Sister of Charlotte Stabbing Suspect Describe History of Mental Illness, ABC NEWS (Sept. 10, 2025), https://abcnews.go.com/US/mother-sister-charlotte-stabbing-suspect-describe-history-mental/story?id=125451590
[3] Elizabeth Wolfe, Jeff Winter & TuAnh Dam, How the Lives of a Ukrainian Refugee and a Charlotte Man With a Criminal History Converged in a Fatal Stabbing, cnn (Sept. 9, 2025), https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/09/us/charlotte-train-stabbing-ukrainian-victim
[4] How the Murder of Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Has Intensified Political Debate on Crime in US, TRTWORLD (Sept. 10, 2025), https://www.trtworld.com/article/a431e6870c69
[5] Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social (Sept. 10, 2025 at 5:44 AM), https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115180060678818221
[6] How the Murder of Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Has Intensified Political Debate on Crime in US, supra note 4.
[7] Anthony Blair, NC Republicans blame ‘woke’ policies for murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska: ‘Dems have chosen to side with criminals’, NY POST (Sept. 10, 2025), https://nypost.com/2025/09/10/us-news/nc-republicans-blame-woke-policies-for-murder-of-ukrainian-refugee-iryna-zarutska-dems-have-chosen-to-side-with-criminals/
[8] Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social (Sept. 8, 2025, at 1:11 PM), https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115170494005487289
[9] U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Justice Department Charges Light Rail Attacker With Federal Crime, Office of Public Affairs (Sept. 9, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-light-rail-attacker-federal-crime
[10] N.C. Sess. L. 2025-93 (H.B. 307) (Oct. 3, 2025)
[11] Katherine Zehnder, Criminal Justice Bill ‘Iryna’s Law’ Heads to the Governor, The Carolina Journal
(Sept. 24, 2025), https://www.carolinajournal.com/criminal-justice-bill-irynas-law-heads-to-the-governor/
[12] Hayley Bedard, North Carolina Legislature Passes Sweeping Criminal Law Legislation in Effort to Restart Executions, Death Penalty info. Ctr. (Oct. 1, 2025), https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/north-carolina-legislature-passes-sweeping-criminal-law-legislation-in-effort-to-restart-executions
[13] Mary Smith, Top North Carolina Law Officials React to ‘Iryna’s Law’ Crime Bill, CBS17.COM (Oct. 10, 2025), https://www.cbs17.com/news/cbs17-investigates/top-north-carolina-law-officials-react-to-irynas-law-crime-bill/
[14] Michael Garrett (@michaelgarrettnc), Facebook (Sept. 22, 2025), https://www.facebook.com/michaelgarrettnc/posts/today-marks-a-heartbreaking-and-deeply-disappointing-day-for-the-north-carolina-/1191319602819257/ (last visited Jan. 28, 2026).
[15] Nicholas Rhee, Duke University Professors Critique ‘Iryna’s Law,’ Which Could Resume Executions in NC, Duke Chronicle (Oct. 22, 2025), https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke-university-professors-critique-irynas-law-death-penalty-ncga-bill-josh-stein-20251022
[16] U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., President Trump Signs the Laken Riley Act into Law, DHS (Jan. 29, 2025), https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/01/29/president-trump-signs-laken-riley-act-law
[17] Meredith Deliso, Timeline: Laken Riley’s Last Moments Retraced During Trial on Georgia Nursing Student’s Murder, ABCNEWS.COM (Nov. 20, 2024), https://abcnews.go.com/US/laken-riley-case-murder-trial-texts/story?id=116009547
[18] Nicole Chavez, Laken Riley’s Killer Sentenced to Life in Prison After Heart-wrenching Pleas From her Family, CNN (Nov. 20, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/20/us/jose-ibarra-laken-riley-murder-trial
[19] Ximena Bustillo, Deirdre Walsh, Congress Clears GOP-led Immigration Enforcement Bill, With Democrats on Board, NPR (Jan. 22, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/01/22/nx-s1-5253926/congress-laken-riley-act
[20] National Immigration Project, The Laken Riley Act (Jan. 24, 2025), https://nipnlg.org/sites/defau...
[21] Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social (Nov 20, 2024, at 9:45 AM), https://truthsocial.com/@realD...
[22] Audrey Conklin, Ashley Papa, Laken Riley Trial Highlight Biden-era Immigration Crisis as Mom of Slain Cheerleader Awaits Justice, Fox News (Nov. 21, 2024), https://www.foxnews.com/us/lak...
[23] Heidi Altman, Fine Things to Know About the Laken Riley Act, Nat’l Immigr. L. Ctr. (Jan. 6, 2025), https://www.nilc.org/articles/...
[24] Press Release, Kelly Backs Laken Riley Act, Bill Goes to President Trump for Signature (Jan. 22, 2025), https://kelly.house.gov/media/press-releases/kelly-backs-laken-riley-act-bill-goes-president-trump-signature#:~:text=Mike%20Kelly%20(R%2DPA),result%20in%20serious%20bodily%20injury.%E2%80%9D
[25] Priscillia Thompson, Erik Ortiz, Rebecca Byrd, Father of Laken Riley Addresses Slain Daughter’s Legacy Amid Heated Immigration Debate, NNC News (Mar. 18, 2024), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u...
[26] Dorothy Gillia, An All-American Tragedy, Wash. post, (June 25, 1986), https://www.washingtonpost.com...
[27] U.S Sentencing Comm’n, The Crack Sentencing Disparity and the Road to 1:1, https://www.ussc.gov/sites/def...
[28] U.S. Sentencing Comm’n, Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy: Executive Summary (May 22, 2002), https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/news/congressional-testimony-and-reports/drug-topics/200205-rtc-cocaine-sentencing-policy/execsumm.pdf
[29] Jonathan Gelber, How Len Bias’s Death Helped Launch the US’s Unjust War on Drugs, The Guardian, (June 29, 2021), https://www.theguardian.com/sp...
[30] Matt London, The Child Abduction and Murder That Changed American Justice, Fox News, (March 16, 2020), https://www.foxnews.com/media/...
[31] Richard Allen Davis’ Life of Crime, SFGate, (Aug. 6, 1996), https://www.sfgate.com/crime/a...
[32] CAL. PENAL CODE §§ 667(b)–(i), 1170.12.
[33] Three Strikes Basics, Stan. L. Sch. Three Strikes Project, https://law.stanford.edu/three... (last visited Jan. 30, 2026); The Three Strikes and You’re Out Law, Cal. Legis. analyst’s off. (Feb. 22, 1995), https://lao.ca.gov/analysis_1995/3strikes.html
[34] Mia Bird, Omair Gill, Johanna Lacoe, Molly Pickard, Steven Raphael & Alissa Skog,
Executive Summary: Three Strikes in California, Cal. Pol’y lab, (Aug. 2022),
https://www.capolicylab.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Executive-Summary-of-Three-Strikes-in-California-Report.pdf.
[35] Legislative Analyst’s Office, Proposition 36: Three Strikes Law, Legislative analyst’s office,
https://lao.ca.gov/ballot/2012/36_11_2012.aspx (last visited Jan. 27, 2026).
[36] Jess Nichol & Annie Nichol, Polly Klaas Was Our Sister. We Don’t Want Unjust Laws to Be Her Legacy, Sisters of Polly Klaas, (Oct. 18, 2020), https://www.sistersofpolly.com...
[37] Katherine Becket, Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics (OXFORD UNIV. PRESS 1997).
[38] Emily Widra, States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2024, Prison policy Initiative (June 2024), https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2024.html
[39] Violent Crime: The US and Abroad, crim. just. degree hub,
https://www.criminaljusticedeg... (last visited Jan. 27, 2026).