As the House Judiciary Committee heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday for a field hearing on violent crime, Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., who sits on the panel, told Newsmax that it's time to course-correct the soft-on-crime policies that have led to horrific crimes like the targeted attack on a North Carolina waterfront bar over the weekend.
Three people were killed and at least eight were wounded Saturday night when someone piloted a small boat close to a waterfront bar in Southport, North Carolina, stopped briefly and opened fire before speeding off. Authorities said the shooting took place around 9:30 p.m.
"This is exactly what our House subcommittee from the Judiciary Committee is coming to Charlotte to do, and that is to have an opportunity to hear, in many cases, from victims of crime, to hear from law enforcement as well, that have been a part of this, and just see what we need to bring to light, because this is not something that the American people are going to tolerate," Harris said on "Wake Up America."
"I'm grateful that these things are coming to light, and that we have an opportunity to shine that light on it today in Charlotte and let the people of North Carolina and the people across the country recognize that these soft-on-crime policies are absolutely disastrous and it's time for us to step up and correct course," he added.
Pivoting to the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train last month, Harris said that there's clearly a "mental health piece to it," but said that "the real breakdown that took place … is the fact that here was an individual that had been arrested 14 times, had spent five years in prison for violent crime, and yet, when sitting before a magistrate," was released "back out onto the streets."
"We just can no longer tolerate these kind of policies and these kind of breakdowns," he said. "We've got to restore confidence in the American people in our justice system and make sure that they understand that criminals are going to be incarcerated and not left on our streets to roam, to do incredibly violent acts like we saw happen to Iryna Zarutska."
Iryna's Law, a new state criminal justice reform bill aimed at tightening bail rules and enhancing mental health evaluations for defendants, was passed by the North Carolina Legislature last week, but Harris said Democrat Gov. Josh Stein has not yet signed it.
"I think he's hesitating, frankly, because he's been a part of the problem all along, and he says it's complicated, well, it's not very complicated to the average American that looks at the realities of wanting to be safe on our streets," Harris said.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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