Trump Calls for Death Penalty for Killer of Ukrainian Refugee
On Wednesday (September 10), Trump called for the death penalty for the suspect in the murder case of Iryna Zarutska. He posted on the social platform Truth Social, saying: "The 'beast' who brutally killed this beautiful Ukrainian girl, who came to the United States seeking peace and safety, should be swiftly tried and sentenced to death, with no other options." The day before, the federal Department of Justice had become involved in the case, and the Attorney General demanded the most severe prosecution from the prosecutors.
The assassination occurred on the evening of August 22, when 23-year-old Zarutska was stabbed three times by a man on a streetcar in the eastern city of Charlotte, USA. The entire process was recorded by surveillance footage. The suspect is 34-year-old African American Decarlos Brown, who has a history of criminal offenses and spent many years in prison for armed robbery.
This incident initially only attracted local attention, but after the surveillance footage was released last Friday, it quickly gained nationwide attention due to its extremely violent nature.
Vi Lyles, the Democratic mayor of the city where the incident occurred, Charlotte, stated after the event that she did not want to "stereotype people with mental health issues," as the suspect was reportedly suffering from a mental illness. However, Mayor Lyles' statement triggered strong criticism from the right wing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused the Democratic mayor and other leftists of trying to "downplay such murders by saying we cannot stereotype homeless people or those with mental illnesses."
Trump has also continuously made comments on the case. He insisted that combating crime is his top priority, especially in big cities controlled by Democrats, and he accused these places of being "too lenient" towards criminal behavior. For this reason, he has sent National Guard soldiers to Washington and threatened to take similar actions against Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, claiming that these cities are "taken over by violent gangs." Some right-wing individuals also accused progressive media of deliberately remaining silent on the case because the victim was white and the suspect was black. Conservative radio host Charlie Kirk commented, "If a regular white person suddenly approached and stabbed a kind and upright black person, it would become a major national news story, and the media would use it to push a series of radical political changes."
AFP said that his remarks seemed to refer to the George Floyd incident. At that time, this black man was killed by a white police officer kneeling on his neck in 2020, triggering nationwide anti-racism protests and having an important impact on the presidential election that year, which led to Trump's loss to Biden.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842903303853450/
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