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Before addressing policy and justice, it is important to pause and grieve.
Charlie Kirk, a strong conservative voice who was exercising his First Amendment rights, was cut down while speaking at a campus event. Iryna Zarutska, a young woman who fled the devastation of Ukraine in hopes of building a safer life in America, was brutally stabbed on a commuter train in Charlotte.
To Charlie’s family, friends, and the many who looked to him for leadership, and to Iryna’s loved ones—who now mourn a life lost far too soon—our heartfelt condolences go out. Both were pursuing freedom in their own way: Charlie by speaking boldly, Iryna by seeking refuge in a free country. Their lives were violently stolen, and their deaths stand as tragic reminders of what is at stake when justice fails.
The tragic shootings and stabbings that claimed the lives of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska—two individuals separated by geography and weapon—remind us of a painful truth: it’s not guns or knives that kill—it’s the conscious choice of a person. Charlie Kirk, a young conservative leader, was gunned down in Utah. Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was brutally stabbed on a train in Charlotte. Two different weapons, two different cities—but the same undeniable truth: it is not the instrument that kills, it is the person who chooses to commit the act.
This truth is as old as humanity itself. From Cain and Abel forward, the problem has never been the tool—it has always been the heart and choices of the offender. Yet today, our public debates continue to focus on banning instruments rather than punishing perpetrators. While lawmakers chase after weapons, criminals are emboldened by a system that too often excuses their violence with talk of mental health, systemic failure, or inequities.
Meanwhile, violent crime rises and consequences shrink. In New York City, felony assaults by repeat offenders skyrocketed by 146.5% between 2018 and 2024, according to NYPD data. Overall felony assaults hit 29,417 in 2024, the highest level in two decades. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch blamed a “revolving door in our criminal justice system” created by bail reform.
The bail reform debate continues, but the data is sobering: 23% of supervised release participants were rearrested on felony charges while their cases were still pending, and over 50% were rearrested when misdemeanors are included. Critics argue this “catch and release” system undermines safety and emboldens repeat offenders.
And when ordinary citizens step up to defend themselves or others, they often find themselves in the crosshairs of the justice system. Jose Alba, a Manhattan bodega worker, acted in self-defense against an attacker yet was charged with murder by District Attorney Alvin Bragg before public outrage forced the charges to be dropped. On the subway, Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran, restrained a threatening passenger and was prosecuted, but ultimately acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in December 2024. More recently, Scotty Enoe, a CVS clerk, faced a manslaughter charge after defending himself from a violent shoplifter, enduring two years of legal battle before being acquitted.
These cases reveal a disturbing pattern: violent predators are granted leniency, while law-abiding citizens who act to protect life are treated as criminals. Prosecutors like Alvin Bragg symbolize this imbalance, appearing more eager to make an example of defenders than to hold repeat offenders accountable. The result is a justice system that no longer inspires confidence, but instead deepens fear and division.
Opponents of stronger accountability argue that the death penalty is cruel. But the hard truth is this: the only one who truly faces the death penalty is the victim. Mercy extended to the guilty too often comes at the cost of justice for the innocent. What is more cruel—punishing the guilty, or allowing unchecked violence to terrorize the innocent?
The path forward is clear: prosecute the criminal, not the citizen. Protect those who defend innocents, and never excuse those who perpetrate violence. Justice must be about confronting the shooter or the knifer—not vilifying the bystander who dares to stop them.
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