North Carolina teacher's killing reignites scrutiny of Roy Cooper's criminal justice record in Senate race
FIRST ON FOX: North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is facing renewed accusations of being "soft on crime" after critics pointed to the January murder of a teacher by a career criminal who had been released after a Cooper-appointed judge reduced his charges and allowed him back on the streets.
Cooper is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring, setting up what is expected to be one of the most competitive races this midterm cycle. Democrats view North Carolina as a key pickup opportunity as Cooper faces Republican candidate Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman.
Ever since the killing of Iryna Zarutska by a career criminal last summer, Cooper and North Carolina’s criminal justice system have faced mounting scrutiny from critics who argue repeat offenders are too often cycled back onto the streets.
"Roy Cooper is a soft-on-crime lunatic who lets monsters out of prison instead of fighting to keep North Carolinians safe," Republican National Committee Spokesperson Emma Hall said. "Cooper’s record has deadly consequences, and he owes every victim and their family an apology for his failure to keep dangerous criminals off the streets."
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Those concerns are now resurfacing following the brutal killing of Raleigh science teacher Zoe Welch that critics say may have been preventable.
Welch was found dead in her home in January, and an autopsy revealed she died from blunt force trauma to the head. Her accused murderer, Ryan Camacho, was facing four charges of breaking and entering in April 2025. However, despite having 20 prior arrests, Durham District Court Judge Dorothy Hairston Mitchell reduced his charges to a misdemeanor, allowing Camacho to walk free.
Mitchell was appointed by Cooper in 2021 to serve as District Court Judge in District 14. In a press release announcing Mitchell’s appointment, Cooper praised her, stating that she would lead with "dedication and fairness."
At the time, Mitchell was appointed to replace Brian Wilks, but she won election to the position in November 2022. Now, his office is distancing Cooper from Mitchell's judgeship.
"To be clear, this judge was elected to her position," a spokesperson for Cooper's campaign told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson added that "while Roy spent his career putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars, Michael Whatley spent his appointing a convicted child sex predator who served time in prison for multiple counts of felony child sex crimes to a powerful position within the North Carolina Republican Party."
In 2021 and 2024, Whatley, then with the North Carolina GOP, appointed convicted child sex offender Harvey Lee West to the state's Plan of Organization Committee. In 1999, West pleaded guilty to statutory rape of three girls, two 14-year-olds and one 16-year-old. West claimed that he had been open and honest about his criminal past with North Carolina party leadership.
Cooper’s campaign points to his 16 years as North Carolina’s attorney general, along with legislation he signed as governor—such as a law making it easier to prosecute drug dealers who sell fatal doses—as evidence of his strong support for law enforcement.
But under Cooper's watch, 3,500 inmates were released over a 180-day period in 2021 as part of a settlement agreement with civil rights groups who sued the state over inmates dying of Covid-19. Some of the inmates released were convicted of serious offenses against children and sexual assault.
Five hundred sixty inmates released during the Cooper administration were arrested on new charges within two years of their release. Among those released was Tyrell Brace, who was later charged with first-degree murder in the killing of young father Elante Thompson in Charlotte.
Another individual released was Jimmie Speight, who had been convicted of indecent liberties with a child and failure to register as a sex offender and was released just under nine months early. In 2023, he was sentenced to more than 32 years in prison for second-degree murder.