James W. Hutchins

In 2014, two bridges on U.S. 74 were dedicated to Captain Roy Huskey and Deputy Owen Messersmith.

Hunt did not commute Hutchins's death sentence, saying he found "no basis" to overrule court decisions. Hunt lost the Senate race to Jesse Helms by a substantial margin, but was re-elected as governor in 1992 and again in 1996 for two more terms. Helms served until retiring in 1996. Hunt would later comment that his role in executing Hutchins was a proud moment of his political legacy and that it was the "right thing to do".

The manhunt was depicted in a 1987 feature film, Damon's Law, also known as "The Rutherford County Line." The film, shot on location by North Carolina producer Earl Owensby, portrays Rutherford County Sheriff Damon Huskey hunting for the man who killed his brother, Sheriff's Deputy Roy Huskey.

Hutchins was ultimately executed in North Carolina on March 16, 1984. His last meal consisted of a steak sandwich and a soft drink. He had no last words.

Superior Court Judge Lacy Thornburg, who would later serve as State Attorney General and as a federal judge, set Hutchins's execution date for October 15, 1981, though further appeals pushed that date back. On September 8, 1983, a new execution date was set for January 13, 1984. On January 6, leading up to his execution, James Hutchins chose lethal injection as his means of execution.

Hutchins was widely feared, known in Rutherford County as a violent and dangerous man with a short fuse, who would attack others for a minor or no reason. At the time of his arrest in 1979, Hutchins was married and had three children. He was unemployed at the time of the murders, but had previously worked at various occupations, including as a textile worker and a carpenter. Hutchins served in the US Air Force during the Korean War and was trained as a rifleman.

On the night of May 31, 1979, Rutherford County deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call involving Hutchins and his teenage daughter, who was preparing for her high school graduation that evening and making an alcoholic drink for a party afterward. Hutchins attacked his daughter, reportedly for using vodka, and he then attacked other family members who tried to intervene to protect her. His daughter fled to a neighbor's house where the sheriff's office was called.

James Hutchins was captured in a dense thicket in Rutherford County on June 1, 1979, after a 12-hour search conducted by over 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers from across western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.

As the trial opened on September 17, 1979, Hutchins pleaded not guilty following the prosecutor's demand that he should be executed. Days later, the jury found Hutchins guilty of two counts of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder. The same jury ruled that Hutchins should die in the state's gas chamber. Presiding Judge Donald Smith referred to Hutchins as "the most dangerous man I've ever seen."

A previous incident similar to the Rutherford County murders occurred in 1975 when North Carolina Highway Patrolman G.T. Davis of Troop "A" was shot to death in downtown Williamston, Martin County. Davis had stopped a car for running a red light at the US 64 and US 17 intersection, unaware that minutes earlier the car's occupants had robbed a bank in Jamesville, 10 miles to the east. Martin County officials had failed to report the robbery and suspects' description to the Highway Patrol. After these incidents, the State Highway Patrol made a concerted effort to have better and timelier communications with local law enforcement agencies.

Trooper Robert L. "Pete" Peterson was a former US Army and Vietnam veteran who had joined the State Highway Patrol in 1969. He had served as the longest-assigned physical training (PT) instructor in the history of the NC Highway Patrol Training Center, training close to ten trooper cadet classes. In 2016, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol named the physical training field and running track at the agency's training center in Raleigh as "Peterson Field" in honor of Trooper Peterson's legacy as the agency's most famous physical training instructor and in honor of his service. The North Carolina Department of Transportation also dedicated a portion of U.S. 221 in Rutherford County in honor of Trooper Peterson.

In December 1966, Hutchins was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill after attacking the husband of his ex-wife. He was given a suspended 8-month sentence and fined $200. Hutchins received two more convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence in 1969. He received a 6-month sentence. Afterwards, he served another four months in jail for driving with a revoked license.

Hutchins was initially charged with murder for killing Weibel. However, he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after claiming that Weibel tried to strangle him and saying he killed him in self-defense. Hutchins was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison and paroled in 1959. While in prison, an official wrote "prognosis for future behavior is poor has a very poor attitude." Hutchins returned to North Carolina after his release.

In April 1954, Hutchins was arrested after fatally shooting Bruce Weibel, a 32-year-old truck driver from Texas. Hutchins, who had been hitchhiking while he was AWOL, killed Weibel after the driver picked him up in New Mexico. He then wrapped the body in a blanket and hid it under a bridge, then drove the truck before being arrested in Oklahoma. During the investigation, Hutchins was questioned in the death of an unidentified woman in Colorado. He admitted to killing Weibel, claiming self-defense, but denied killing the woman. In 2009, the woman was identified as 18-year-old Dorothy Gay Howard. Serial killer Harvey Glatman is now the prime suspect in her murder.

James William Hutchins (March 26, 1929 – March 16, 1984) was an American murderer who killed four people in two different states. He was charged with murdering a man in New Mexico in 1954, but was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after claiming self-defense. Hutchins was later convicted of the murders of three law enforcement officers in North Carolina in 1979. He was sentenced to death and executed on March 16, 1984, by the state of North Carolina at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina by lethal injection. Hutchins became the first person to be executed in North Carolina since 1977 when capital punishment was reinstated. The murders inspired a motion picture and prompted statewide changes in law enforcement protocol for the interagency reporting of officer murders and radio cross-communication between local agencies and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Hutchins was born on March 26, 1929, in Rutherford County, North Carolina. His father was an alcoholic who physically abused his mother and chased her with a gun. James's brother, Billy Hutchins, said he was always high-tempered.