In yet another signal that Americans are sick and tired of seeing the woke, rogue judiciary take the side of criminals over law-abiding Americans, a Change.org petition has garnered over 13,000 signatures (as of the time this article was written) demanding that North Carolina Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes be removed from her position.
As background, Judge Stokes is the judge who let Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat offender with a lengthy rap sheet and 14 priors, out of jail just months before he stabbed 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on Charlotte’s light rail system. Given the litany of crimes under Brown’s belt, Judge Stokes has faced furious criticism for letting him out of jail without bail.
And while North Carolina Republican politicians have taken to demanding she be removed from her position, other Americans have as well, including well over ten thousand normal people who signed the petition demanding that she be removed from her position in the judiciary.
The petition begins by noting that Brown had a lengthy history of run-ins with the law yet was walking free in Charlotte regardless, saying, “Iryna Zarutska was brutally murdered by Decarlos Brown — a man with schizophrenia who had been arrested 14 times, including for robbery with a deadly weapon. The real question is: Why was a mentally ill, repeat offender allowed to walk free in Charlotte?”
Continuing, the statement skewered Judge Stokes with a vengeance, saying, “After his most recent arrest — before he killed Iryna — Decarlos was released without bail by Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes. According to North Carolina lawmakers, Judge Stokes released him “based solely on his written promise to appear for a future court date.” Judge Stokes reviewed Decarlos’s lengthy criminal record, and possibly his history of mental illness, and still let him walk. We need answers and accountability.”
Adding to that, the petition got to the demand portion, calling for her to be tossed out of the judiciary. It said, “This petition calls on the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission to: Remove Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes from her position. Investigate her past rulings for conflicts of interest or other improprieties.”
Concluding, the petition noted that Iryna’s death was utterly unnecessary and a result of absolutely horrific policies and procedures that can’t be allowed to continue, saying, “Iryna’s life was stolen, and her story must not be forgotten. Sign this petition to demand justice and to ensure our community is protected.”
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Congressman Pat Harriagan took to Facebook to promote the petition. Sharing a link for it, he said, “After Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light-rail train, North Carolina Congressman Pat Harrigan has joined thousands of others in a petition calling for Judge Teresa Stokes to be removed.”
He continued, “Stokes had presided over an earlier case involving the suspect, DeCarlos Brown Jr., months before he was charged with Zarutska’s killing. Despite Brown’s 14 prior arrests and a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, Stokes released him on a written promise to appear in court.”
Featured image credit: police