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Virginia Federal Court Sentences Former Superintendent of Rockbridge County Jail to 51 Months in Prison for Brutality and Corruption
Loaded on Aug. 1, 2021
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2021, page 50
In May 2021, the former supervisor of Virginia’s Rockbridge County Regional Jail was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison after he was convicted for violating the civil rights of prisoners and public corruption.
Following a six-day federal bench trial in 2020, John Marshall Higgins, 62, was convicted on three …
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More from this issue:
- 25 Years of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, by John Boston
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Investigation Finds “Deadly Delays” in Cancer Diagnosis at Washington State Prisons, by David Reutter
- Whistleblowers: Software Bug Keeping Hundreds of Arizona Prisoners Beyond Release Dates, by Jimmy Jenkins
- How Sheriffs Are Extracting Wealth from People in Jail, by Katie Jane Fernelius
- Illinois First State to Abolish Cash Bail, by Daniel A. Rosen
- CFPB and Three States Sue Over Predatory Immigrant Bail and GPS Scam, by David Reutter
- Smart Communications Contract Reveals Plans for Expanding Privatized Prison Mail, by Kevin Bliss
- Scores of Ecuadoran Prisoners Die in Coordinated Melees
- Florida Supreme Court Disbars Attorney For Making Sex Films in Jail Visiting Room, by Matthew Clarke
- Justice Delayed in California Jails: Lengthy Pretrial Imprisonment Common, by Daniel A. Rosen
- New York State Law Ends Long-Term Solitary Confinement in Prisons and Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- $1,000 Award to Ohio Prisoner for Violation of Public Records Act
- Resisting a Prison Without End, by Jayson Hawkins, Panagioti Tsolkas
- Seventh Circuit Says Racial Disparity Argument ‘Too Weak to Require Discussion’ in COVID-Related Motion for Compassionate Release, by David Reutter
- Ohio Enacts Criminal Justice Reform in 2020, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois DOC Prisoner’s Suit Against Wexford Psychiatrist, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.65 Million Settlement for Family of Prisoner Killed at Rikers Island
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Kentucky Jail Prisoner’s Suicide, by Matthew Clarke
- Rebellion at GEO-Run Prison in New Mexico
- Louisiana Law School Counts Deaths Behind Bars Because State Won’t, by Daniel A. Rosen
- NYC Department of Corrections Continued Noncompliance to Consent Decree and Spending Nearly Half A Million Dollars Per Prisoner in 2020, by Kevin Bliss
- $11,000 Recovery for Asthmatic Indiana Prisoner in Denial of Treatment After Cell Block Fire
- Second Circuit Holds Control Unit Placement for Former Death Row Prisoners Unconstitutional Bill of Attainder, by David Reutter
- Minnesota Mothers to Receive More Bonding Time with Their Newborn Children, by Kevin Bliss
- South Carolina to Use Firing Squads to Execute Prisoners, by Keith Sanders
- Medical Update: COVID is Not Over, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- America’s Biggest Jails Are Frontline Environmental Justice Communities, by Adam Mahoney
- Planned Massive Shortfall in Funding to Maintain Minnesota Prisons, by Anthony Accurso
- Federal Judge Rejects BOP’s Attempts to Keep Videos of Force-Feeding Prisoners at ADX Secret, by Dale Chappell
- Florida Prisons Face Ongoing Staff Shortages Due to Low Pay And Long Hours, by David Reutter
- HRDC Settles Censorship Lawsuit with Johnson County, Kansas Jail for $50,000 and Policy Changes, by Derek Gilna
- U.S. Department of Justice Publishes Statistics on Prisoners’ Deaths, by Matthew Clarke
- Virginia Federal Court Sentences Former Superintendent of Rockbridge County Jail to 51 Months in Prison for Brutality and Corruption
- No Qualified Immunity for Oregon Prison Officials’ COVID-19 Response; Class Certified, by Mark Wilson
- Illinois Prisoner Gets Mixed Results in Appeal of Suit Against Wexford and Doctors, by David Reutter
- Report Shows Official Misconduct Responsible for More than Half of Exonerations, by Dale Chappell
- Seven Guards Fired After Prisoner Dies in TX Jail, by Keith Sanders
- Virginia Prison Guards Attack Prisoners with Dogs, by Keith Sanders
- Connecticut Makes All Prison Communications Free, Makes History, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Orange County California Jail Guard Investigated for Burning Mentally Ill Prisoner, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Potential Radioactive Exposure to Manatee County Jail Prisoners in Florida, by Kevin Bliss
- Change in Good Time Makes Tens of Thousands of California Prisoners Eligible for Release, by Matthew Clarke
- Anti-Parole Whistleblower Prompts Investigation of Virginia Parole Board, by Casey Bastian
- No Mutual Assent Where Detainee Forced to Accept Release Card in HRDC Case, by David Reutter
- California Juvenile Court Erred in Removing Child from Imprisoned Father’s Care
- $550,000 in Damages Ordered to Woman Prisoner Raped by New York Guard
- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- Now Under Federal Receivership, New York City’s Rikers Island Jails Still Have No Plan to Improve, No Firm Date to Close, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Eighth Amendment.
- Suit Filed Over Fatal Beating of New York Prisoner That Sparked Massive Guard Strike, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025. War on Terror, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Terrorism.
- $6.75 Million Settlement Reached in Suit Accusing Massachusetts Guards of Retaliatory Assaults on Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Multiple Prisoner Suits Accuse Guards of Violence at Virginia BOP Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Discrimination (Transgender).
- SCOTUS Clamps Down on Bivens Extension to Prisoner Beaten by BOP Guards at Virginia Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Bivens Actions.
- Former Oregon Prison Guard Sergeant Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Imprisoned Women, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- $1.2 Million for New York Prisoner Waterboarded by Guards, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Exceptions.
- Third Circuit Upholds Award of $265,000 to Prisoner Who Was Sexually Assaulted Twice by the Same Guard, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Damages - Compensatory, Damages - Punitive.

