Man Who Ran Over Charlottesville Protester Sentenced To Life Plus 419 Years
Charlottesville First aid workers help those hurt by a car deliberately plowing into a crowd demonstrating against white supremacists marching. Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — A jury in Charlottesville, Virginia, recommended a sentence of life in prison plus 419 years for the man who rammed his car into a group of counterprotesters at a far-right rally, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
The jury in the Virginia district court made its recommendation for the sentencing of James Alex Fields Jr., 20, on Tuesday following four hours of deliberations over two days, including listening to statements from victims. It also recommended a fine of nearly half a million dollars.
On Friday, the same jury found Fields guilty of first-degree murder on its first day of deliberations following a trial of nearly two weeks.
Fields also was convicted on nine other counts, including hit and run, for injuring at least 20 others with his vehicle.
He also is charged with 30 federal hate crimes, which will involve a federal trial.
The rally on Aug, 12, 2017, was held under the banner of “Unite the Right.” It was organized originally to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
