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.

The 11-year-old mixed breed named Beignet was stabbed to death June 26, 2023, at Weaver Park while the dog’s owner played pickleball with friends.

Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams said Friday that he could not comment on a pending matter.

“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.

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 that he 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.

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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/.

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SUMMARY: North Carolina is facing a significant housing inventory gap across all income levels and regions, according to a report by the NC Chamber Foundation, NC REALTORS, and the N.C. Homebuilders Association. The gap, expected to grow with population and job increases, could generate $489 billion in economic activity and create 2.2 million jobs. The report projects a 5% increase in households by 2029, with a gap of 764,478 units. The state’s housing market faces a low availability of affordable homes and rental units, highlighting the need for targeted, regional solutions to address this growing issue.

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The post ‘North Carolina faces a significant housing inventory gap’ • NC Newsline appeared first on ncnewsline.com

Feeling emboldened, NC agencies taking ASAP approach to DEI efforts

by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press
February 7, 2025

State departments and agencies have begun to scale back their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts — some openly, others quietly.

State Auditor Dave Boliek and Labor Commissioner Luke Farley, both freshly-elected Republicans, announced their intentions to eliminate DEI from their internal policies in late January press releases.

Their announcements came on the heels of President Donald Trump issuing several executive actions that take aim at DEI efforts in the federal government. Nationwide polling suggests that Americans are about evenly divided on the issue. However, surveys from the Pew Research  Center in 2023 and 2024 show that public support for DEI initiatives might be waning.

Additionally, a number of top companies and major colleges have scrapped DEI programs despite making significant investments to establish them just years earlier.

Taking cues from the national party leadership, some Republican state officials like Boliek and Farley have taken aim at DEI since coming to power after the 2024 elections.

In a late January press release, Boliek argued that “the negative effects of DEI are backed by years of research and studies.”

“DEI is divisive and brings little-to-no return on investment of time and resources. My goal in the Auditor’s Office is to establish a professional workplace where individuals are valued and measured based on merit. Corporations across the country are abandoning DEI, as are colleges and universities, and it’s time for the government to do the same,” the release read.

But skepticism about DEI is not solely a Republican trait it seems.

Other agencies that fall under the umbrella of the executive branch — even those led by Democratic appointees — seem to have gotten cold feet over their diversity initiatives, which in some cases included hiring DEI-specific personnel.

The Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Public Safety and Health and Human Services have all taken steps to distance themselves from DEI with little fanfare, Carolina Public Press has learned.

‘Diversity’ cut from the list

Both the Office of the State Auditor and the Department of Labor said they will no longer consider DEI as a performance measure for their employees.

Performance assessments for state government employees are structured according to a system created by The Office of State Human Resources. Each year, agencies must select certain values to use as a guideline to assess workers. Those values are derived from a list provided by the state.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion” was one of 22 included on the list from last year’s assessment cycle.

So when Boliek and Farley — who declined requests to be interviewed — announced they were eliminating DEI as a performance measure, it meant that “diversity, equity and inclusion” will not factor into upcoming employee reviews.

There’s no indication that either agency’s actions will affect the job status of any of their staff members. A spokesperson from Boliek’s office confirmed that there is nobody on staff with DEI-specific duties.

However, Boliek said in his press release that his office would be conducting an “internal review” in order to identify and scrub diversity, equity and inclusion standards across the department.

Party lines

Other Republican-run state agencies are following suit or already have been.

An official from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which has been led by Commissioner Steve Troxler since 2005, said that the agency also planned to drop DEI from its performance assessments.

The change, which mirrored the actions of the Department of Labor and Office of the State Auditor, was not publicly announced.

Meanwhile, spokespeople from the Department of Insurance and the Office of the State Treasurer told CPP that their internal policies had no DEI initiatives to eliminate.

“I applaud the actions taken by Auditor Boliek and Commissioner Farley,” said State Treasurer Brad Briner in a statement. “I am grateful to be in a position in which we are not forced to remove unfair performance evaluation metrics and can instead focus on valuing employees for the important contributions they make to our state.”

What’s in name?

State agencies headed by Democratic leadership, both elected and non-elected, have generally been more open about their efforts related to diversity and inclusion practices at their workplaces.

That may no longer be the case, as illustrated by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Public Safety removing references to DEI from within their offices beginning last year.

In 2024, the state health department changed the name of its DEI office to the “Office of People, Culture and Belonging.” The reason for the change was to “allow for a greater understanding and flexibility in viewing the work of the office,” the department explained in its annual Equal Employment Opportunity plan.

CPP requested interviews with top leaders, but was told by a spokesperson that “staff are not available.”

Additionally, the department did not respond when asked if it intends to continue operations at the Office of People, Culture and Belonging for the foreseeable future.

Similar changes are taking place at the Department of Public Safety. Since 2022, one of the department’s top leaders, Sherry Hunter, had been the deputy secretary for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Law Enforcement. Her job was to “help DPS achieve the departmental goal of reflecting and representing North Carolinians from all walks of life.”

In August, however, Hunter’s title was changed to “Deputy Secretary for Law Enforcement and Strategic Relations” although her job description remained the same.

She recently began a new role as “Deputy Secretary of Professional Standards” — a change which has yet to be announced publicly or reflected on the department website.

Spokeswoman Laura Hourigan told CPP that Hunter will be leading an entirely different section of the department in this new job. 

The department does not intend to hire a replacement for her previous DEI-specific position.

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.