North Carolina man whose daughter was killed presses DOJ and lawmakers on bill aimed at “career felons”

North Charleston, South Carolina — The grieving father of a North Carolina woman who was shot and killed during a break-in pressed Attorney General Todd Blanche and GOP Sen. Darline Graham to pass a bill that would create a national database of repeat violent offenders on Thursday, after the bill failed to gain momentum in the six months since it was introduced by Graham’s late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. 

Speaking at a law enforcement roundtable event in North Charleston, Stephen Federico talked about how he had called for the passage of Logan’s Law to honor his daughter Logan Federico, who was killed during a break-in in Columbia, South Carolina, while visiting friends in 2025. 

The suspect in Logan’s murder had faced at least 25 felony charges and had been arrested dozens of times before allegedly killing Federico, and he had avoided long-term jail time despite his criminal history.

“The criminal is more important than the innocent,” said Federico, who was seated next to Blanche and Graham at the roundtable at the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. He went on to say that parents like him are the “underdogs” fighting against violent crime and “career felons” like the one alleged to have killed his daughter.

The bill was introduced this year in the Senate by Lindsey Graham before he died suddenly in July. If passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law, it would order the attorney general to create a publicly accessible federal database of individuals convicted for violent crimes and would encourage data-sharing between states to protect the public from repeat offenders. 

The bill was also introduced by South Carolina GOP Rep. Russell Fry, who challenged Darline Graham in the special primary for her brother’s Senate seat and was present for the event Thursday. 

Federico blamed his daughter’s death on local police departments that had arrested his daughter’s alleged killer and did not know there were outstanding warrants for his arrest in different jurisdictions. The person charged in her killing is awaiting trial on murder, burglary and gun charges.

Although the bill was introduced in April, there has been little momentum in Washington pushing the bill toward passage, despite the fact that Republicans control Congress and the White House.

Blanche and Graham, however, told CBS News during a brief press conference after the roundtable that the bill should be passed soon with bipartisan support, though its prospects of success in a potential Democrat-controlled Congress next year remain dim.

Darline Graham is in a race that has grown unexpectedly tight — she’s defending the seat against Democrat Annie Andrews. Though a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in South Carolina in decades, a couple of recent polls suggested Andrews and Graham are virtually tied. The Cook Political Report changed its rating of the race from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican.”

“I wish I had a crystal ball, but I don’t,” Graham said, adding that Logan’s Law “shouldn’t be a red or blue issue — this is a common-sense issue to protect people.”

“You’re right, we’ve had six months or so [to get the bill passed],” Blanche said, adding, “This should pass.”

Fighting back tears at the roundtable, Federico said he would “do anything I have to do to get this law passed.”

“I will speak with anybody. I will work with anyone,” Federico said. “I’m not a girl dad anymore because of this. I’m not a girl dad anymore, and that’s not fair to me. This was preventable. And dammit, I’m not going to save one more life. I’m going to save thousands.”