Even as the recent conviction of Karmelo Anthony for the murder of Austin Metcalf comes as an encouraging verdict for many of us who wish to see more law and order in our nation, there is cause for frustration in the recent news that Iryna Zarutska’s killer, Decarlos Brown Jr., has been judged unfit to stand trial in federal court. This is an absurd outcome, threatening the very possibility of maintaining order and justice in our society. If we wish to have a country with any meaningful justice, we must get retribution for the innocent and punish guilty brutes like Brown.
Iryna Zarutska was brutally murdered in a public railway car in Charlotte, North Carolina last August by Decarlos Brown, Jr., a deranged homeless black felon with at least 14 prior arrests who nevertheless had been put back on the streets by judges. Video footage of the event showed the killer muttering to himself, “I got that white girl.” This was a publicly brutal example of the kind of anti-white violence which has become frequent under our regime of anarcho-tyranny.
When in April a state judge determined that Brown was mentally incompetent to stand trial on state charges, the Department of Justice reassured the public that Brown would face federal charges and was being held in federal custody. If convicted of the federal charges (one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system), Brown would face life in prison or the death penalty.
Iryna Zarutska’s mother attended President Trump’s February 2026 State of the Union address as one of his honored guests. In his speech, Trump vowed to get justice: “[D]angerous repeat offenders continue to be released by pro-crime Democrat politicians again and again … No one will ever forget the expression of terror on Iryna’s face as she looked up at her attacker in the last seconds of her life … Mrs. Zarutska — tonight, I promise you, we will ensure justice for your magnificent daughter, Iryna.”
However, an all-too-predictable obstacle has once again arisen. Now, as of last week, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell decided that Brown is incompetent to stand trial at least for four months while he undergoes mental treatment at a federal facility. Unlike many high-profile cases in which leftist, pro-crime judges are minorities, foreign-born, or women, this judge is a white, male, Trump appointee – further highlighting the problem with the existing criminal justice system. While radical, left-wing judges are bad enough, there are further legal and structural problems that must be overcome.
Why can the justice system legally deem criminals mentally incompetent to stand trial? The criminal justice system should primarily aim at protecting the innocent and providing the conditions for an ordered society. Permanently removing such dangerous people as Decarlos Brown from the streets should not be controversial. As John Locke wrote in his famous Second Treatise on Government, the violent criminal, “having renounced reason, the common rule and measure God hath given to mankind, hath, by the unjust violence and slaughter he hath committed upon one, declared war against all mankind, and therefore may be destroyed as a lion or a tyger, one of those wild savage beasts, with whom men can have no society nor security…” (II.11). Those who act like “wild savage beasts” and render themselves incapable of living in society should be put down like wild animals. The idea that we cannot punish these criminals because they are too dumb or deranged to understand the consequences of their own actions is absurd and must be repudiated.
What Can Be Done?
What can be done? At present, the trial is delayed as Brown undergoes treatment at a federal mental facility for not more than four months. At that point, he must be reassessed for competency to stand trial. If he is not ever deemed competent, then he likely will be committed to an asylum. The state trial, in which he has also been deemed incompetent, will await the results of the federal trial anyway. This entire process with all its delays is infuriating for the American people to witness as we await justice.
Instead of what we should have – swift convictions and swift public executions – we have to watch a ridiculous array of procedural obstacles unfold, leaving us to be controlled by the whims of judges and alleged mental health authorities. Who is to guarantee that Decarlos Brown and others like him never get out of asylums or mental facilities? Brown had a history of violent crime prior to his arrest for murder. Numerous cases like this abound. We currently have no legal guarantees that even those convicted for heinous crimes will serve their entire sentence, let alone an assurance that those deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial won’t be somehow released. Why should American taxpayers have to pay to subsidize the prolonged existence of such a murderer in government facilities?
This case highlights many of the problems with our corrupt criminal justice system. To obtain a change of venue (e.g. seek to try the case before a different court in a different district) is almost impossible, since venue change is rare and must be requested by the defendant. In theory, this makes sense because of the presumption of innocence for the defendant and the desire to protect the rights of the defendant against prosecutorial manipulation. Yet, we must honestly assess our current circumstances: we currently have far too little law enforcement and criminal punishment for basic needs like having communities safe from thugs and criminals (both domestic criminals and illegal aliens). We should consider what kind of extraordinary measures may be necessary to reform our system to achieve law and order. The procedures we enact should always aim at achieving the basic ends of government — protection of life, liberty, and property for the citizens. If the ends of government are failing right now, what use are good legal procedures?
“Impeach the judges” is a common refrain online, not surprisingly. However, impeachment of state or federal judges is very difficult, requiring an aggressiveness on the part of GOP lawmakers and willing majorities in both chambers of the legislature. Under the current legal framework, GOP legislators and advocates should adopt every legal strategy possible from moving to impeach judges to passing new legislation to proposing amendments to state constitutions. This should be done at the federal and state level.
If we don’t fix our criminal justice system and our judiciary, we can never restore order and rebuild this country for us and our offspring.
