According to the FBI’s 2024 crime statistics, a violent crime occurred every 26 seconds in America, with murder occurring an average of every 31 minutes.
Undoubtedly, some of those murders were committed by repeat offenders, an undeniable reality that has become a focal point amid the national debate over crime offenses in the United States.
In 2025, one murder that has caused a tidal wave of backlash was that of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was killed on Charlotte’s light rail system Aug. 22, allegedly by 34-year-old homeless man and violent repeat offender Decarlos Brown Jr.
Brown had a lengthy rap sheet, having been arrested 14 times previously. That fact and the release of the video of the brutal attack on Zarutska, showing her crouched and looking up in terror as her killer plunged the knife into her neck, prompted officials at all levels of government to weigh in and vow action.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight held a field hearing in Charlotte last Monday on victims of violent crime and the soft-on-crime policies that Republican lawmakers believe were factors in the victims’ deaths.
In her opening remarks at the hearing, Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) expressed her “deepest, deepest condolences to” Zarutska’s family.
When Ross pointed to a picture being displayed at the witness table, saying she was “thrilled that we have a picture” of Zarutska looking like “the vibrant and exceptionally kind person she was,” she was corrected soon after.
It wasn’t a picture of Zarutska. It was 22-year-old murder victim Logan Federico, a Waxhaw native who was killed in May while visiting friends in South Carolina.
Her father, Stephen, corrected Ross, who apologized profusely for confusing the two murder victims. And when it was his turn to give his testimony, Federico did not hold back, describing his daughter’s horrific final moments before informing the committee that her alleged murderer, too, was a repeat offender.
After he advised them to “think about your kids” as he told his daughter’s story, an understandably emotional Federico said his daughter was dragged “out of bed, naked, forced on her knees with her hands over her head, begging for her life. Begging for her hero, her father. Me. I couldn’t be there.”
The man accused of killing her, 30-year-old Alexander Dickey, had been arrested nearly 40 times, Federico noted.
“Alexander Devante Dickey, who was arrested 39 god—-ed times, 25 felonies, was on the street. How about that? How good are we doing for our families?” Federico asked. “How good are you doing for your kids? He should’ve been in jail for over 140 years for all the crimes he committed.”
At one point, Federico again looked at Ross.
“Her name’s Logan Federico, not Iryna,” Federico stated as he pointed to Logan’s picture. “And you will not forget her. I promise you,” he indicated to Ross and others on the committee.
Further, he assured the lawmakers in attendance, “You will be sick and tired of my face and my voice until this gets fixed. I will fight to my last breath for my daughter.”
Not only should we pray that the families of these and other murder victims can obtain justice for their loved ones, but we should also pray that eyes will be opened and that laws and procedures in all states will be changed in meaningful and impactful ways to reduce the chances of someone else becoming victimized.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
