The man charged in the stabbing death of a pet dog while its owner played pickleball will have a sentencing hearing Monday in Buncombe County that could lead to his release.
James Wesley Henry has been in Broughton Hospital, a state psychiatric facility, for treatment since April. Henry, who has a lengthy criminal history, was charged with a lower level, class H felony of cruelty to animals, which carries a maximum sentence of 39 months for an offender with multiple convictions.
Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams said Friday that he could not comment on a pending matter.
Waverline Hardy held a picture of her son, James Wesley Henry, at her Morganton home in 2023. // Watchdog photo by Andrew Jones
“At the sentencing hearing Monday morning, the state will present its argument for appropriate sentencing,” Williams said.
North Asheville residents Tom and Liesbeth Mackie owned Beignet. Tom Mackie said Thursday that an assistant district attorney had contacted them to let them know about the hearing, and that Henry most likely will be released.
“I feel absolutely awful, and I’m concerned about other people,” Mackie said. “I think the laws need to change. I mean, people are walking in fear, and not just from this guy — from all kinds of violent people that get turned out.”
Mackie said the country as a whole needs more mental health care, and he acknowledged that sending someone like Henry to prison could worsen his struggles.
‘Can someone like this be rehabilitated?’
“But can somebody like this be rehabilitated?” Mackie said, referring to Henry’s criminal history.
The Mackies hope that if Henry is released, he will move back to Morganton, about 60 miles east of Asheville and where his mother is from. Liesbeth Mackie said she has concerns for the public’s safety but also for Henry himself, because the case stirred such outrage and passion from the community.
Liesbeth Mackie said she talked to her son recently about Henry’s potential release, and he told her, “Mom, you don’t want vigilantes and pitchforks.”
“And I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I don’t want,’” Liesbeth Mackie said.
Liesbeth Mackie was playing pickleball at Weaver Park when Henry was seen attacking Beignet, who was leashed and lying in the shade. Initially, witnesses thought Henry was punching the dog, but he actually had a knife in his hand.
Beignet, an 11-year-old mixed breed, was killed on June 26, 2023, at Weaver Park. // Photo credit: The Mackie family
Before the incident, Henry had been in and out of jail more than two dozen times, and Asheville police knew him as far back as 2010 because of his violent behavior.
Asheville Watchdog has previously reported that Henry, 45, was homeless at the time of the incident and prone to alcohol-fueled volatility. Henry served briefly in the military, but his mother told The Watchdog thathe suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has a drinking problem.
Last April, a judge ruled that Henry would go to Broughton Hospital for mental health treatment.
Williams previously noted that Henry lacked the “capacity to proceed to trial” and would be sent to Broughton Hospital “for further evaluation and restoration services,” according to the district attorney’s office. Broughton Hospital is a regional state psychiatric hospital in Morganton.
The Buncombe County Public Defender’s Office represented Henry in the hearing. Sam Snead, head of the office, said last year that technically, “restoration” means the accused could be treated and restored to a mental health capacity where he could stand trial.
Typically, the treating hospital sends the court updates on the treatment, usually every six months, Snead said then.
“If restoration can’t happen within a year, a year and a half, they’ll often say, ‘Well, they’re not restorable,’” Snead said. “They’re balancing the nature of the crime regarding the potential restoreability. So if you’ve committed murder, they may be willing to keep you in the hospital for a decade or more before they deem you unrestorable.”
Snead said if a judge makes a ruling of non-restorability, at that point the prosecution cannot proceed and the court would likely dismiss the case. Snead said the district attorney also can review the restorability updates and decide to dismiss the case.
“And then the other (factor) is if the person has served essentially the maximum amount of time that they can serve for the charge, regardless of their restoreability, then there’s also a mechanism by which the charges can get dismissed,” Snead said last year.
Technically, “restoration” means the accused could be treated and restored to a mental health capacity where he could stand trial, Snead said last year, but he added that he did not expect this case to go to trial.
The Watchdog left messages for Snead on Friday but did not hear back by deadline. Snead did not handle the Henry case personally.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 14:16:00
(The Center Square) – Planning and response to Hurricane Helene with early voting already underway has been deemed worthy of an award for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Fifty-three programs from 258 nominations earned the Exemplary Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Efforts award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Additionally, election boards in the counties of Buncombe, Currituck, Durham and Wake won 2024 Clearinghouse Awards, and those in Durham, Rockingham and Union counties earned honorable mention.
Helene killed 107 and caused an estimated $60 billion damage.
The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.
Election Day was six weeks away. The disaster area declared included 25 counties and coordination with the state board; county boards; lawmen on the federal, state and local levels; the state National Guard; the U.S. Postal Service; and information technology professionals on multiple levels.
Voter turnout in the 25 counties was 74.9%, a tick higher than the state average of 72.6%.
“We are extremely proud of the efforts of our state’s election officials and our partners to pull off a successful election under the most trying of circumstances,” said Karen Brinson Bell, the state board’s executive director. “Hundreds of thousands of western North Carolinians were able to vote in the important 2024 election because of state board planning, along with the hard work and resiliency of county election officials and the invaluable assistance of our emergency management and law enforcement partners.”
The award is a different kind of light for the state board.
Between July 22 and Sept. 12, seven lawsuits were filed against the state board of Democrats Alan Hirsch, its chairman, Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen; and Republicans Stacy Eggers and Kevin Lewis; and Bell. More followed the election and are still unresolved along with the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Republican Jefferson Griffin.
SUMMARY: U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, traveled to El Salvador to check on Abrego Garcia, who has been held for over a month at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The Trump administration acknowledged the deportation error. Despite challenges in securing a meeting, Van Hollen met Abrego Garcia and shared an update with his wife. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele mocked the meeting, commenting that Abrego Garcia would remain in custody.
SUMMARY: In Disney’s “Magic of Storytelling” podcast, Thumper discovers a robin’s egg after a storm. He and his four sisters—Trixie, Tessy, Daisy, and Ria—worry about the egg being cold and try to keep it warm with leaves. As they debate the best approach, they decide to find the mama robin for help. Meanwhile, Thumper and Daisy attempt to cheer the egg by singing and dancing. Eventually, the sisters return with a nest just as the mama robin arrives. The egg hatches, bringing joy to the bunnies as they celebrate their teamwork and caring efforts.
Thumper the bunny is hopping along one day and finds a special egg! Soon, he and his family are set out on an adventure to find the egg’s Mama.
