Republican officials say records link DeCarlos Brown Jr. to 2021 settlement that freed 3,500 inmates as Cooper runs for Senate
EXCLUSIVE – As former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper runs for the U.S. Senate, the killing of a young woman on a Charlotte light-rail train is triggering renewed scrutiny of a prison-release deal approved under his administration and whether the accused killer was among those freed.
Republican officials are raising urgent questions, asking whether records show DeCarlos Brown Jr., the parolee charged in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, was tied to a 2021 COVID-era settlement that authorized the early release or transition of 3,500 incarcerated individuals.
Prosecutors say Zarutska was stabbed to death aboard a Charlotte light-rail train by Brown, a repeat offender with an extensive criminal history who was under state supervision at the time of the attack.
The case has drawn heightened attention after records reviewed by Fox News Digital, provided by Republican officials, appeared to link Brown to the 2021 settlement, which was negotiated between Cooper’s administration and civil rights groups amid concerns over COVID-19 conditions in state prisons.