Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., defended Charlotte’s cashless bail policy on Tuesday and rejected calls from former President Donald Trump to broaden incarceration after the brutal August attack on a light-rail passenger.
The attack on Aug. 22 left 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska dead after a man identified by police as Decarlos Brown, 34, stabbed her on a light-rail car. Brown, who officers said had an extensive criminal record and had been arrested multiple times previously, was taken into custody shortly after the attack.
Trump cited the case in recent remarks criticizing cashless bail, saying the suspect had been arrested and released repeatedly and asking, "What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be locked up." The former president has used the incident to argue for tougher pretrial detention policies.
Adams, whose congressional district includes Charlotte, said in an interview with the Daily Mail that jailing more people is not a cure-all and that the homicide exposed broader problems, including untreated mental illness. "You can't solve everything by putting people in jail," she said. "We can't jail our way out of some of the situations that are going on."
She said officials should increase mental-health supports rather than rely solely on incarceration and noted previous investments by state leaders. North Carolina’s 2023-2025 budget included roughly $835 million in mental-health funding, including nearly $100 million aimed at helping formerly incarcerated people transition back into the community.
Adams said she has been looking into whether some mental-health dollars have been diverted or otherwise failed to reach intended services, and that more work is needed to ensure resources are effective. She did not provide details about specific programs or locations where funds may have been lost.
When asked how a person with a long arrest history could have carried out the attack, Adams said the issue is complex and tied to other social problems. "Violent criminals, yes, we need to address that, but we also have to address a lot of what's going on today. The mental health is connected, it seems to me. So we can't address one without the other," she said.
Adams called the killing "a terrible situation" and said she had prayed for Zarutska and her family. She accused the president of politicizing the case, noting the attack occurred in August and suggesting his comments were made for political purposes.
Local authorities said Brown had been arrested numerous times prior to the Aug. 22 attack. Police released limited details about the prior arrests, and prosecutors have not said whether any of those previous cases involved formal confinement or pending charges at the time of the killing.
The dispute adds to an ongoing national debate over cashless or reduced-cash bail reforms that many jurisdictions adopted to address concerns about pretrial detention disproportionately affecting low-income people. Supporters of reform say cash-based systems can unfairly punish poor defendants; critics argue reforms can allow dangerous individuals back into communities.
Advocates for expanded mental-health services noted that many jurisdictions, including North Carolina, have increased funding in recent years for treatment and reentry programs. Officials and lawmakers continue to debate how best to allocate those resources and how to measure whether funding translates into services that prevent violent incidents.
The U.S. Department of Justice and local prosecutors in other jurisdictions have in recent years pushed for policies that balance public safety and defendants' rights. The Charlotte case has become a flashpoint in that debate, prompting statements from national political figures and renewed attention from local officials.
Investigations into the Aug. 22 attack and any pending criminal proceedings against the suspect remain ongoing. Police and prosecutors have not publicly released a detailed timetable for charging decisions or pretrial hearings.
As lawmakers and community leaders weigh policy responses, family members and residents called for answers about how and why the attack occurred, and for measures that could prevent similar tragedies in the future.