A new work group might come up with creative alternatives to jail time for some local inmates, Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs suggested Tuesday.

The county commissioners will discuss forming a group, similar to the recent Orange County Emergency Services Work Group,  at a future meeting.

The work group should “harness the energies and creativity" of judges, the district attorney, public defenders and other criminal justice officials, Jacobs said.

The Council of State also agreed Tuesday to let the county lease seven to eight acres at $1 for 50 years at the state's Orange Correctional Center on Old N.C. 86.

The county plans to build a 250-bed jail for roughly $30 million to replace the existing jail, built across from the downtown courthouse in 1925.

The current jail holds 129 inmates and does not have designated space for female inmates. Jail officials said it has age-related plumbing and maintenance issues.

Chief District Court Judge Joe Buckner told the commissioners in September that a new jail could help local courts function more efficiently, while giving court officials and inmates a place to meet and talk about cases and plea bargains. It also would relieve years of overcrowding.

Alternative sentencing options could include home detention, special services for homeless repeat offenders, and increased use of the county’s drug and community resource courts, Jacobs said.

"In N.C., death penalty gets rarer."

That headline in the morning paper might be surprising given that public support of the death penalty remains high. A Gallop Poll conducted as recently as October showed 64 percent of Americans in favor of executing people convicted of murder. But that was down from 69 percent a year earlier and other polls show the percentage in favor of putting murderers to death falls far below 50 percent when the alternative of life without parole is presented.

The overall support for death penalty has been clashing in recent years with substantial discomfort with the way it has been carried out and a growing number of obstacles to actually putting people to death. Staff Writer Dan Kane, who examined decisions by prosecutors and trial results from around the state, explains why just one person has been sentenced to death in North Carolina this year.

No one has been executed here since August 2006. 

Linda Williams 

Local criminal defense attorney Glenn Gerding had conceded the race to replace retiring District 15B Judge Pat Devine to Pittsboro family lawyer Page Vernon, who won 65 percent of the vote in the primary in May. Gerding won 21 percent in a non-partisan primary designed to narrow the field to two, rather than choosing a representative of a political party.

"Page essentially won the seat in the primary," said Gerding. "Her
percentage of the vote was decisive. ... I'm confident Page will do a great job as District Court Judge, and I look forward to working with her."

Gerding will not campaign, but his name will remain on the ballot, per election rules. If Judge Alonzo Coleman successfully defends his seat against local attorney Betsy Wolfenden, Gerding plans to seek appointment after Coleman is forced to retire next spring at age 72.

"I understand Glenn's decision to concede the race and I am honored to
receive his endorsement," said Vernon. "He's a well-respected lawyer, he ran a very
strong campaign, and he's certainly earned the respect and admiration
of many voters."

On Wednesday, Durham defense attorney James D. "Butch" Williams reminded Orange-Chatham Superior Court Judge Carl Fox to include his middle initial in any documents related to his client Kenneth White, accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend.

"If anybody pulls the record up, some people might assume it's the real James Williams," said Butch Williams, referring to James E. Williams, the chief Public Defender for the Orange-Chatham judicial district.

"I'm afraid that some people might believe that you are the real James Williams, Mr. Williams," Fox responded.

In a recent court appearance, Fox chided James E. Williams for forgetting to wear his suit jacket into the courtroom. Decked out in a bowtie and navy suit with wide white pinstripes, Butch Williams had no such problem Wednesday. But he did get a talking-to for not having a business card with an e-mail address where the judge could send a draft of a court order.

Real or not real, the James Williamses have to stay on their toes when Fox is behind the bench.