In emotionally charged testimony Monday, Steve Federico, father of a young woman brutally murdered by a black career criminal in South Carolina, urged Democrats to end their support for lenient policies that allow dangerous offenders to roam freely.
The House Judiciary Committee held a field hearing in Charlotte, North Carolina, to investigate violent crime in the area, focusing on repeat offenders and pretrial release practices. Federico’s daughter, Logan Federico, 22, was fatally shot during a home invasion on May 3, 2025, by Alexander Dickey, 30, who had been arrested 39 times and faced 25 felonies.
Federico described the horror of his daughter’s death, detailing how she was dragged from her bed, forced to her knees, and killed while pleading for her life. “She was five foot three, 115 pounds… BANG! Dead,” he said, voice breaking. He criticized Dickey’s minimal prison time—over 600 days in ten years—and questioned why a man with such a violent history remained free.
Federico accused South Carolina’s Fifth Judicial Circuit Court Solicitor Byron Gipson, a Democrat, of neglecting his duty, noting he had received no communication from Gipson since the murder. He criticized Gipson’s “soft-on-crime” approach, citing his past as a defense attorney and controversial statements during a Fox News interview.
The hearing also highlighted confusion over another case involving Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed in August 2025 by a repeat offender with a history of convictions. Federico demanded stricter measures against dangerous individuals, vowing to fight for justice until his last breath. “You will not forget her! I promise you,” he said. “Stop protecting the people that keep taking them from us!”
