When Empathy Turns Toxic: The Chilling Lesson From Charlotte’s Light Rail Murder
Kevin McCullough
A Ukrainian refugee fled a war zone, crossed an ocean, and came to America for safety. Instead, she found herself stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail train. Her final moments, captured on chilling surveillance video, should shake us to our core.
The woman had escaped Putin’s bombs only to meet her end at the hands of a repeat offender set free again and again under the banner of “restorative justice” and “racial equity.” This wasn’t random. It was preventable. And it happened because too many leaders in our cities have convinced themselves that empathy for criminals is more important than protection of the innocent.
Fox News reported that the suspect, Decarlos Brown, had a long rap sheet. Arrested repeatedly. Released repeatedly. The pattern is familiar: progressive judges and district attorneys who seem more interested in showcasing their enlightened empathy than in delivering justice. The result? A violent man left free to ride trains, free to attack strangers, free to kill.
Empathy can become toxic. What begins as compassion for the “marginalized” morphs into leniency for predators. Criminals are recast as victims, while real victims are erased. The very people crying “equity” create disorder, chaos, and death.
Incredibly, Charlotte’s mayor responded by urging citizens not to “demonize homeless people.” She framed the murder as a mental health crisis, not a crime. Of course mental illness is real. But not every evil act can be swept into the category of “disease.” Some people do wicked things because they are wicked. And leaders who refuse to acknowledge evil allow it to fester.
more
https://townhall.com/columnists/kevinmccullough/2025/09/08/when-empathy-turns-toxic-the-chilling-lesson-from-charlottes-light-rail-murder-n2662898
