Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, was recently murdered by a thug named Decarlos Brown Jr. in Charlotte, NC. What’s made this crime notable is that it occurred on August 22. It is only receiving attention now because the conservative media sphere noticed it in the last few days. The mainstream media ignored it.
While that aspect is important, the matter of who is to blame for Zarutska is more important.
Decarlos Brown Jr. is directly responsible, obviously. Zarutska was on her way home from her job at a pizzeria. Brown was sitting behind her on the Charlotte light rail. Unprovoked, Brown drew a knife from his pocket and stabbed her to death. Hopefully, he will be behind prison walls for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, one can’t be very confident that he will. A photo circulating on the internet (not for the faint of heart) shows Brown about to stab Zarutska with his 14 mugshots superimposed on the image. The Charlotte criminal justice system bears a great deal of blame for letting Brown roam free when he should have been in prison. Like most lousy criminal justice systems, it is in a city run by liberal Democrats.
Another image shows there were three people seated to the side and behind Brown. There may have been other people seated just a few feet away. Why didn’t any of them intervene?
To be clear, no one should blame them for not helping Zarutska. Anyone who intervenes in a situation like that risks becoming victim number two.
In the end, Bragg’s message was loud and clear: We prosecute our heroes.
Still, there are plenty of heroes in our midst like, say, Daniel Penny. Remember him? On May 1, 2023, he stopped the dangerous Jordan Neely on a New York City subway. Penny, a former U.S. Marine, put Neely in a chokehold and unintentionally killed him. Although many witnesses described Neely’s behavior that day as threatening and supported Penny’s intervention, Penny was arrested and put on trial by the George Soros-backed district attorney, Alvin Bragg. (RELATED: Daniel Penny, USMC: Unfairly Charged)
Fortunately, Penny didn’t go to prison. He was acquitted in December 2024. But as the saying goes, the process is the punishment. For a year and seven months, Penny got to worry about whether he would spend time in the big house. His defense cost at least $1 million — probably more — although thankfully it was covered by crowdfunding. Otherwise, the next court Penny would have found himself in was bankruptcy. (RELATED: If Only We Had More Daniel Pennys!)
In the end, Bragg’s message was loud and clear: We prosecute our heroes.
Some of those sitting near Zarutska no doubt got that message. Perhaps all of them. Did those who had an instinct to intervene hesitate because, for a split second, the image of Daniel Penny flashed in their minds? (RELATED: George Zimmerman Reflects on the Fate of Daniel Penny)
It could have been worse. In July 2022, Jose Alba, a 61-year-old bodega clerk, killed customer Austin Simon with a knife after Simon had attacked him and backed him into a corner. The police who investigated called it a case of self-defense. Bragg charged Alba with murder anyway. After facing enormous criticism, including from Mayor Eric Adams, Bragg dropped the charges. Imagine if it had gone to trial. Then the message Bragg would have sent is — you’ll be prosecuted for defending yourself. God help us.
The disincentives to be a hero — bodily injury and death — are as severe as they get. If we want heroes, the last thing we should do is add more disincentives.
Alvin Bragg added a big one, and Zarutska was a victim of it. Shame on him.
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