Procuring glasses for a suspected murderer poses a quandary

Mar. 30—Haywood County jailers faced an unusual dilemma this month: how to fetch eyeglasses for a murder suspect without hauling him into the Walmart Vision Center in his orange jump suit and leg shackles to pick them up in person.

Noah Bolden, who is charged with the first-degree murder of Uber driver Julia Holland over New Year's Eve, was granted a court order to get prescription eyeglasses, since inmates are entitled to medical care while in detention.

But the Walmart Vision Center has a policy requiring the person with the prescription to pick up their glasses in person.

The conundrum landed before a judge in Haywood County Superior Court earlier this month. Bolden's attorney complained that Bolden had been waiting to get his entitled glasses.

But detention officers explained that they when tried to get the prescription filled, they couldn't without having Bolden there in person.

A conversation between Judge Marvin Pope, Bolden's attorney, Capital Defender Victoria Jayne, and the detention officer ensued over what to do about the situation.

A court order for glasses issued Feb. 10 instructed the jail to provide the eyewear within a two-week period. Jayne expressed concern that her client desperately needed the glasses, and the facility had to abide by the court order to produce them.

"If the defendant cannot read or observe his discovery because he has no glasses, then his ability to assist council and make informed decisions may be negatively impacted," according to the motion filed by Jayne.

While detention officers said their hands had been tied by Walmart's policy, they promised the court to figure out a solution. One possible scenario would be to take Bolden over to the Walmart and present him at the counter in person so he could pick up the glasses himself.

Incidentally, county taxpayers will be picking up the tab for Bolden's glasses — along with any other medical care he receives while in custody awaiting trial.

County tax payers also pay for the room and board of inmates in the county jail while they are awaiting trial. Once convicted, inmates become state prisoners are shipped off to a state prison, with the costs then being shifted to the state.

Based on the annual operating costs of the jail, divided by the number of inmate nights per year, the per day cost to house an inmate at the Haywood County detention center is approximately $91, according to Gina Zachary, public information officer for the Haywood County Sheriff's Office.

With murder cases typically taking three years or more to come to trial, Bolden will cost Haywood County tax payers more than $100,000 in room and board, not counting medical care received while in custody.

Death penalty determination

No official determination on whether Bolden will stand trial for the death penalty has been made by the District Attorney's Office yet. However, Bolden has been appointed a new attorney who handles capital cases.

There are a limited number of public defenders who will take on death penalty cases. Should the case become a capital trial down the road, it would be problematic to appoint a new attorney at that point, so in February, the court assigned Bolden a capital public defender.

Meanwhile, the prosecution is awaiting results of a DNA sample taken from Bolden via court order — which could factor into the decision of whether to seek the death penalty. The DNA test is necessary to determine whether Holland was the victim of sexual assault by Bolden, including possible postmortem sexual assault, according to court records.

If sexual assault by Bolden is confirmed, the new evidence could provide additional charges.

"Sufficient evidence of the same would possibly support additional charges, provide a motive for the alleged murder and would provide a strong basis for whether the State would seek the death penalty in the case," according to the prosecution.

Prosecutors requested a "rush" on the DNA results from the State Crime Lab. While the rush request was granted, the evidence was still undergoing analysis at the time of a court March hearing.

In March, Bolden appeared in court for a so-called Rule 24 hearing, a pre-trial conference mandated for any crime punishable by the death penalty in North Carolina. Due to waiting on the DNA results, the pre-trial conference was continued to Monday, June 5.

During the hearing, Jayne made a motion for "additional discovery," or additional evidence, specifically for the autopsy report of murder victim Julia Holland.

Judge Pope approved the motion to provide the defense with the autopsy report from the state Chief Medical Examiner and the pathology department at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

"The office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Pathology Department at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center provide an official autopsy report, medical examiner's investigation, all official autopsy photos, x-rays, and the entire file pertaining to the autopsy of the decedent, Julia Holland to the undersigned attorney for the defendant and the District's Attorney's office in Haywood County," the order states.