Trust buys Civil War site where Black soldiers fought
RICHMOND — A nonprofit which preserves U.S. battlegrounds announced Wednesday that it has paid $260,000 to purchase land in Virginia where Black soldiers fought in the Civil War and were honored for their efforts.
American Battlefield Trust said the money will help preserve New Market Heights, which is just outside of Richmond.
Completion of the latest project was made possible by donations from trust members and private donors, as well as a matching grant awarded by the Commonwealth’s Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund, which is administered by the Department of Historic Resources, according to a news release. The grants have helped protect 9,598 acres.
The battle on Sept. 29, 1864, was key to securing a Union position and eventually helped lead to the Confederate surrender of their capital. That day, 14 soldiers of the U.S. Colored Troops earned the Medal of Honor, more than half the number of Black soldiers who were honored for their valor during the entire war.
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Virginia Law Review names first Black editor-in-chief
CHARLOTTESVILLE — The new editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review is the first African American person to hold the position, the University of Virginia said.
Tiffany Mickel, a second-year student at the UVA School of Law, and the managing board were chosen by the outgoing board after an application and interview process. The 30 second-year law students began their new roles on Jan. 25.
In an interview with UVA, Mickel said the managing board hopes to promote “diverse authorship, provide a platform for a wide variety of scholarship and advance our membership experience.”
The publication, now in its 108th year, is one of the nation’s most prestigious law journals.
Former jail chief convicted for mistreating inmate
FALLS CHURCH — The former superintendent of a jail near Lexington has been convicted on corruption charges for denying medical treatment to an inmate who suffered brutal attacks and giving preferential treatment to another inmate — including personally delivered ice cream — whose family made financial donations.
John Marshall Higgins, 62, was superintendent of the Rockbridge Regional Jail until 2017, when he resigned after state police began an investigation of the jail. He also served two terms on the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors.
U.S. District Judge Norman Moon found Higgins guilty on three counts of denying an inmate his civil rights and three counts of honest services fraud related to his providing preferential treatment to the inmate.
Testimony during last year’s bench trial in Lynchburg revealed that Higgins turned a blind eye when two sex offenders were beaten and tortured at the jail. One of the inmates was regularly attacked, forced to eat and drink bodily fluids, bleach and excrement.
Despite the apparent and severe injuries suffered by the inmate, Higgins repeatedly rejected requests from his lieutenants at the jail to transfer the inmate to a hospital.
Higgins was acquitted on more than a dozen fraud counts alleging he illegally received thousands of dollars’ worth of free Viagra from the company that supplied the jail’s pharmaceuticals.