Charlotte mayor calls for 'compassion' for Iryna Zarutska's accused killer
Vi Lyles made reference to Decarlos Brown's mental health problems to justify the crime he allegedly committed and which was reflected in the images that went viral recently.
Vi Lyles, mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2021. File image.
Charlotte (North Carolina) Mayor Vi Lyles called for "compassion" for Decarlos Brown, the sole suspect for the murder of young Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska inside a city subway car.
Lyles, of the Democratic Party, made this request based on the mental health problems suffered by people like Brown - to whom she made no reference - believing it is a reason to justify someone who committed murder.
"This is a tragic situation that sheds light on problems with society safety nets related to mental healthcare and the systems that should be in place," Lyles said, adding that Brown "appears to have suffered a crisis."
"We will never arrest our way out [of] issues such as homelessness and mental health," the Charlotte mayor added, saying that illnesses like schizophrenia - which Brown suffers from - "needs to be treated with the same compassion, diligence and commitment as cancer and heart disease." "Homeless people are often the victims of crime, not the perpetrators," she concluded, in remarks issued to WSOC-TV.
Zarutska was killed in late August while riding the Charlotte Metro, being stabbed in the back to death by an individual. So far, the only person charged is Brown.
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