Father Advocates for Tougher Crime Penalties
A father from North Carolina, Stephen Federico, pushed for harsher penalties for criminals at a legislative hearing on Monday. He shared the heartbreaking story of his daughter, Logan, who was killed—a victim of violent crime, similar to the recent attack on the Charlotte Light Rail.
Federico expressed his struggles, stating that the man accused of killing Logan has a troubling history. He detailed how this individual, with over 20 felonies in South Carolina, allegedly broke into a home in Columbia and fatally shot a 22-year-old woman.
“I will fight for my daughter until my last breath,” Federico declared to lawmakers. “You need to fight for the rest of our children, our innocent people, and stop shielding those who continue to harm us.”
Federico teamed up with Mia Alderman, whose granddaughter was murdered in 2020, to voice their concerns regarding a judicial system they feel has let them down during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Charlotte.
The committee had arranged remote hearings in North Carolina’s urban areas to address what they see as an urgent need for criminal justice reform. This concern heightened following the stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, whose attacker later confronted another individual on the Charlotte Light Rail.
The alleged murderer of Logan Federico, Alexander Dickey, was repeatedly arrested in 2023 for first-degree robbery and received a minimum 15-year sentence, although this was for a lesser charge as a first-time offender.
After Dickey’s last arrest, a South Carolina law firm noted that there were issues with his criminal record—essentially incomplete due to a failure to properly capture his fingerprints. Notably, Dickey had 39 past charges before the tragic shooting in May 2025, which led to his arrest using stolen debit cards the next day. “When they saw his face on the video, they didn’t even need to check,” related Federico.
In Zarutska’s case, the suspect, DeCarlos Brown Jr., faced scrutiny due to a lengthy criminal history, including prior robbery convictions. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he was waiting for a mental health evaluation at the time of Zarutska’s murder. Despite his past, a magistrate judge had only recently released him after a misdemeanor charge for misusing the 9-1-1 line.
“It’s frustratingly common for a criminal to evade justice only to commit more serious offenses,” remarked Rep. Mark Harris, who represents parts of Charlotte.
Alderman, meanwhile, continues to seek justice for her granddaughter’s murderer. The individual responsible for killing 20-year-old Mary Collins was discovered with over 100 stab wounds, wrapped in plastic days later. “Five years isn’t justice; five years is excruciating,” Alderman lamented, referring to the ongoing legal battles related to Collins’ death. “Time is stealing our justice in a court system overwhelmed with murder trials. Mary isn’t the sole victim. The same system that failed Mary also failed Iryna,” she added.
