In the wake of the killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train, The View’s Whoopi Goldberg urged on Wednesday an end to funding cuts for mental health services and rejected attempts to politicize the tragedy.
The show opened with a clip of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blaming Democratic lawmakers and the media for Zarutska’s death.
“This monster should have been locked up,” Leavitt said. “But Democrat politicians, liberal judges, and weak prosecutors would rather virtue signal than lock up criminals and protect their communities. … Many outlets in this room decided her murder was not worth reporting on originally because it does not fit a preferred narrative.”
“A young woman is dead,” Goldberg responded. “A man who should have been behind bars was loose and out. He was a schizophrenic man. His mother begged them to take him and put him away. So stop politicizing this. This is not political. This has to do with how we take care of our sick Americans when they are in need.”
Goldberg added pointedly, “Let me just say: if y’all can stop cutting funding for places [that treat mental illness], maybe we can stop this.”
Co-host Joy Behar claimed that the issue is inherently political, pointing to early actions by the Trump administration that slashed mental health funding. However, it remains unclear whether the funding would have prevented this particular incident.
“In the first 40 days of the Trump administration, they terminated 128 grants from the National Institute of Mental Health,” Behar said. “In May, they cut $1 billion in federal grants for mental health services. Then they talk about mentally ill people with guns and killing people, then cut the services. It is political.”
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin emphasized that while blame is being tossed between parties, most people simply want solutions.
“Somebody should not be a 14-time offender and be back on the streets,” she said. “We don’t treat mental health in a systematic way anymore in this country. There needs to be a safe, responsible place for people who are dangerously ill.”
Co-host Sara Haines added historical context, noting the long-term consequences of shutting down mental health institutions in the 1970s, which left many without access to care and led to cycles of homelessness, incarceration, and violence.
Co-host Sunny Hostin, a former prosecutor, stressed the lack of mental health services within the justice system.
“It is a pandemic at this point,” Hostin said. “Part of being smart on crime is making sure people have access to healthcare, including mental healthcare, when they are in prison. That doesn’t happen.”
Goldberg concluded with an emotional reminder of the consequences of ignoring family pleas for intervention.
“Sometimes you have to remember when a parent is begging, as his mother did, begging them to take him and put him in an institution, for God’s sake, somebody listen,” Goldberg said.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 27, was charged with the murder of Zarutska, who had fled Ukraine to escape the war and start a new life in the United States. She was described by her family as hardworking and kind, working two jobs and studying English at community college.
According to federal authorities, Brown boarded the LYNX Blue Line train on Aug. 22 and sat behind Zarutska. Just minutes later, he allegedly stabbed her multiple times in the neck, killing her in what investigators described as a brutal and unprovoked attack.
Brown, who has a long criminal history and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been charged 14 times prior and recently released under conditions that did not include treatment or institutionalization. His family members say they had tried repeatedly to get him help but were blocked due to guardianship restrictions and a lack of available mental health facilities.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FATAL STABBING OF UKRAINIAN REFUGEE ON CHARLOTTE’S LIGHT RAIL
Federal charges now include causing death on a mass transportation system, and Justice Department officials have said they will seek the maximum penalty. Brown remains in custody.
“This crime is horrific,” Goldberg said. “It could have been anybody’s daughter.”