Daniel Penny attorney calls progressive policies 'homicidal,' says Charlotte train murder was preventable

A defense attorney who helped defend Daniel Penny said progressive criminal-justice policies are 'dysfunctional homicidal policies of the radical left,' arguing that such approaches keep violent, mentally ill repeat offenders on the street and contribute to tragedies like the Charlotte light-rail stabbing.

Thomas Kenniff, a partner at Raiser Kenniff & Lonstein, told Fox News Digital that these are homicidal policies that translate into real danger for bystanders when authorities fail to remove dangerous individuals from the streets. He pointed to the Aug. 22 stabbing on a Charlotte-area light-rail train in which Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, with a long history of mental illness and more than a dozen prior charges, allegedly stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska from behind.

Brown had been released without bail on a prior misdemeanor charge of misusing the 911 system. Kenniff cited Brown's alleged record, noting at least 14 arrests and prior psychiatric commitments and jail sentences, and that Brown was released after signing a note to return to court.

Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who fled war to the United States, was on her way home from a pizzeria when the attack occurred; video shows a man in red opening a pocket knife behind her before she collapses on the platform. Brown was booked Aug. 28, 2025, on charges including first-degree murder in North Carolina and a federal count of committing an act causing death on a mass-transportation system.

Kenniff also referenced Penny's own high-profile case; jurors found Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December after he restrained Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old man with schizophrenia who was acting erratically on a New York City subway. Kenniff argued that the penny case highlights tensions between bystander intervention and legal risk, and he warned that the public may pull back from helping in emergencies if prosecutors pursue charges against well-meaning intervenors.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department will seek the maximum penalty in the federal case against Brown, describing the Aug. 22 attack as a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people.

North Carolina Republicans have also proposed Iryna's Law, a package to change how judges set bail and bonds. The bill would make pretrial release harder for those charged with violent crimes and expand the state's authority to forcibly commit mentally ill people.

While police data show declines in major crimes, Kenniff said the narrative cannot capture every risk. 'The only statistic that should matter is how many preventable, otherwise preventable crimes are occurring,' he told Fox News Digital.

The case underscores the ongoing national debate over criminal-justice reforms and public safety policies in the United States, as lawmakers, prosecutors, and defense attorneys argue over the best path to reduce violence while safeguarding civil liberties.