The entire North Carolina Republican House delegation, led by Rep. Mark Harris, urged the removal of the judge who let Iryna Zarutska's murder suspect go free from prison before the fatal stabbing happened on August 22. 

The lawmakers want to see Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes lose her job for her decision to release Decarlos Brown Jr. from jail in January after he was arrested for abusing the 911 system.

Harris posted on X about the pressure he and his colleagues were bringing to bear.

The entire NC Republican delegation called for the removal of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes for letting Iryna Zarutska's murderer out on the streets.

Her lenient interpretation of the pretrial release statutes calls into question her fitness for service.

The District Court… pic.twitter.com/FQngiKM177

— Rep. Mark Harris (@RepMarkHarrisNC) September 22, 2025

Is Stokes fit to serve?

"Her lenient interpretation of the pretrial release statutes calls into question her fitness for service," he wrote.

"The District Court says they are 'reviewing' and 'evaluating' policies and procedures," he added. "But is Stokes still making judgments for other criminals even though she has lost the public's confidence?"

Brown had been charged with other crimes 14 times before he stabbed Zarutska, but Stokes still let him out.

According to Brown's mother, he had suffered from schizophrenia for years since a previous stint in jail. He said after the stabbing that a "material" in his body stabbed Zarutska after a voice told him to do it.

The release

Stokes released Brown with only a written promise to appear on the charges that he called 911 repeatedly from a mental hospital and falsely accused the mental health workers there of holding him against his will.

To further criticize Stokes, lawmakers noted that Stokes had failed the bar exam four times, and she was never admitted to the bar in North Carolina.

There's no requirement to pass the bar to be a judge, but how qualified can you be to preside over cases if you couldn't even pass the bar?

Stokes also owned a mental health clinic where Brown had been a patient. This could be seen as unethical, but it wasn't illegal.

But these were used as reasons that Stokes should be removed as judge, taken together with the release of Brown.

Because of Stokes's leniency, a woman is dead. She's definitely not fit to be a judge, and should be removed as soon as possible.