Convicted murderer dies in jail

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer
Published: July 3, 2008

Convicted double murderer James H. Long Jr. was found dead in his cell at the Central Virginia Regional Jail (CVRJ) Sunday. 
According to CVRJ Superintendent Glen Aylor, jail staff found Long unresponsive in his cell early Sunday morning. In spite of CPR procedures performed on Long by jail staff and rescue personnel, Long was not revived.
“The attempts to resuscitate inmate Long were unsuccessful,” Aylor said, but he did not say what caused Long’s death.
“The Virginia State Police are conducting an investigation on the incident,” he explained.
Sgt. Mike Woodard of the Virginia State Police said the matter is being handled by the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Woodard added that it is customary for the state police to investigate when a prisoner dies while in custody, and an autopsy is standard procedure.
“We call in the state police whenever there is a death,” Major Susan Fletcher of the CVRJ said.
Sgt. F.L. Tyler, Virginia State Police Public Information Officer said an autopsy was performed on Long’s body June 30 at the medical examiner’s office in Fairfax.
“The cause of death is pending the results of the toxicology exam,” Tyler said. There were no apparent signs of injury, he added.
“It does look like he may have had a heart attack,” Orange County Commonwealth’s Attorney Diana Wheeler said. She speculated that Long’s health had been adversely affected by his lifestyle prior to incarceration. “He’d abused cocaine for years and years,” she explained.
According to Wheeler, Long was alone in his cell when jail staff found him unresponsive
At Long’s second trial in February 2008, he was found guilty of the March 2005 shooting deaths of William Browning and Vicki Truax, both of Burr Hill. Long was serving two consecutive life sentences for the murder charges and eight additional years for weapons charges.
Long had already been tried–and was convicted in 2006–of the first degree murders of Burr Hill residents William Browning and Vicki Truax, but the case was never permitted to progress to the sentencing phase. Before that could happen, Judge Daniel Bouton reversed the jury’s guilty verdict and ordered a new trial for Long. Bouton overturned the conviction after finding that certain exculpatory evidence--a plea agreement between the prosecution and one of its principal witnesses, Robin Browning--was not provided to the defense.
Long was being held at the CVRJ awaiting transport to a state prison.