Washington Post: Locking Up Deranged Violent Criminals Is 'Draconian'

The Washington Post is drawing fire after publishing a piece on Wednesday that downplayed the brutal killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

The left-wing newspaper suggested that permanently institutionalizing violent offenders with mental illness would be “draconian” and “inhumane.”

Alarmingly, the report sought to downplay the horrific murder and instead twist the story into an attack against President Donald Trump and Republicans while attempting to shift the blame away from Democrats.

The Post’s article is titled “Trump blames Democrats for Charlotte stabbing. Records complicate the story.”

The article sought to run cover for North Carolina’s failed justice system and instead faulted prisons for not treating the mental illness of Decarlos Brown, a career criminal with 14 prior convictions who fatally stabbed Zarutska on Charlotte’s Blue Line train last month.

“Other criminal justice experts disagreed, saying that permanently confining people who are mentally ill for minor offenses is a ‘draconian’ and inhumane response,” the Post wrote.

“There is no evidence that Brown received mental health treatment during his years in prison.”

A state corrections spokesman told the outlet he could not discuss the medical or mental health treatment of any offender.

The outlet also quoted James E. Coleman Jr., a professor at Duke Law School.

Coleman dismissed the idea that the justice system should lock up violent offenders with mental illness.

“If you were able to lock up mentally ill people and throw away the key, there are all kinds of draconian things that could have been done,” Coleman told the Post.

“But I don’t think that anybody has thought that’s what this country’s criminal justice system is about, and there is not one Republican state that does that.

“What could a Republican have done to prevent a mentally ill person from senselessly stabbing a person on the light-rail train? …

“I guarantee you, if there was a way to prevent crime that was easy, I can’t imagine there is any police chief in America who would not adopt those policies.”

The Post’s framing was immediately criticized for describing Brown’s lengthy rap sheet as involving so-called “minor” crimes.

In reality, Brown had served five years behind bars for robbing a man at gunpoint in 2014 and was also convicted of felony larceny and breaking and entering.

More recently, he had been jailed for a misdemeanor charge of abusing the 911 system.

North Carolina Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes released Brown without bail in January, giving him only a “written promise” to return to court.

His own mother had begged for him not to be released back onto the streets, citing his violent behavior and schizophrenia.

Court records show that a judge granted a motion for Brown to be evaluated by a mental health specialist on July 28.

However, as the Post admitted, “It is unclear whether it did.

“Neither Brown’s attorney nor the court system responded to requests for clarification.”

Just weeks later, Brown ambushed Zarutska on the commuter train, stabbing her three times and slitting her throat as she sat defenseless in her seat.

Witnesses said Brown muttered, “I got that white girl,” before walking away while passengers refused to intervene.

The Post concluded its article by citing CNN, which reported that Brown told his sister he attacked Zarutska because he believed she was “reading his mind.”

Federal prosecutors have charged Brown with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death.

The Washington Post’s coverage comes as critics slam Democrats’ “soft on crime” agenda for allowing repeat offenders like Brown to remain free despite violent histories.

Surveillance video of Zarutska’s final moments shows the innocent young woman alone, terrified, and abandoned by bystanders.

The footage has only intensified demands for stronger sentencing laws and expanded institutional care for dangerous offenders.