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Jury Recommends Life in Prison for James Fields in Charlottesville Trial Jury Recommends Life in Prison for James Fields in Fatal Charlottesville Attack
(35 minutes later)
A jury recommended on Tuesday that a demonstrator who drove into a crowd of counterprotesters at last year’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., killing a woman, spend the rest of his life in prison.A jury recommended on Tuesday that a demonstrator who drove into a crowd of counterprotesters at last year’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., killing a woman, spend the rest of his life in prison.
The recommendation came four days after the jury convicted the man, James Fields Jr., 21, of first-degree murder in the attack, which also injured nearly 40 other people. Mr. Fields was also convicted of nine other charges, including aggravated malicious wounding and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, for which the jury recommended a sentence of hundreds more years in prison.The recommendation came four days after the jury convicted the man, James Fields Jr., 21, of first-degree murder in the attack, which also injured nearly 40 other people. Mr. Fields was also convicted of nine other charges, including aggravated malicious wounding and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, for which the jury recommended a sentence of hundreds more years in prison.
The jury’s action on Tuesday is not a final verdict. Under Virginia law, it serves as a recommendation to the judge, who will decide the sentence.The jury’s action on Tuesday is not a final verdict. Under Virginia law, it serves as a recommendation to the judge, who will decide the sentence.
Judge Richard E. Moore of Charlottesville Circuit Court will sentence Mr. Fields at the end of March, said Brian Wheeler, a spokesman for the city. He can order a weaker sentence than what the jury proposed, but not a stronger one.Judge Richard E. Moore of Charlottesville Circuit Court will sentence Mr. Fields at the end of March, said Brian Wheeler, a spokesman for the city. He can order a weaker sentence than what the jury proposed, but not a stronger one.
In August 2017, Mr. Fields traveled from Ohio to attend the Unite the Right rally, where swastika-toting white supremacists swarmed the streets and clashed with counterprotesters. In an attack that killed a 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, Mr. Fields sped down a narrow street packed with counterprotesters, many who were on their way home after the authorities shut down the demonstration.In August 2017, Mr. Fields traveled from Ohio to attend the Unite the Right rally, where swastika-toting white supremacists swarmed the streets and clashed with counterprotesters. In an attack that killed a 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, Mr. Fields sped down a narrow street packed with counterprotesters, many who were on their way home after the authorities shut down the demonstration.
The jury’s complete sentence recommendation included life in prison for first-degree murder, as well as 419 years of prison time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for the lesser charges. Mr. Fields faces a second trial on federal hate crime charges, which could result in the death penalty.The jury’s complete sentence recommendation included life in prison for first-degree murder, as well as 419 years of prison time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for the lesser charges. Mr. Fields faces a second trial on federal hate crime charges, which could result in the death penalty.
“In the end, the hands of justice say that he needs to be kept away from society for a while, and I’m content with that,” Susan Bro, Ms. Heyer’s mother, told reporters at a news conference outside the court on Tuesday.“In the end, the hands of justice say that he needs to be kept away from society for a while, and I’m content with that,” Susan Bro, Ms. Heyer’s mother, told reporters at a news conference outside the court on Tuesday.
At the conference, Joseph D. Platania, the commonwealth’s attorney, praised the jury’s decision, calling it a “true act of public service.” During the trial, prosecutors had argued that Mr. Fields traveled to the rally with an intent to commit harm, citing a cartoon that he shared on Instagram months before the protests that showed a car ramming into a crowd.At the conference, Joseph D. Platania, the commonwealth’s attorney, praised the jury’s decision, calling it a “true act of public service.” During the trial, prosecutors had argued that Mr. Fields traveled to the rally with an intent to commit harm, citing a cartoon that he shared on Instagram months before the protests that showed a car ramming into a crowd.
Video footage from the episode showed Mr. Fields’s Dodge Challenger idling and then reversing before accelerating into the group of pedestrians.Video footage from the episode showed Mr. Fields’s Dodge Challenger idling and then reversing before accelerating into the group of pedestrians.
A lawyer for Mr. Fields did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. In court, the defense team argued that Mr. Fields did not travel to Charlottesville with the intention of doing harm and said he “acted out of fear.”A lawyer for Mr. Fields did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. In court, the defense team argued that Mr. Fields did not travel to Charlottesville with the intention of doing harm and said he “acted out of fear.”
Organizers chose Charlottesville as the site of the Unite the Right rally as a rebuke to the proposed removal of monuments to Confederate generals in the city. The protests started on the University of Virginia campus with a march of hundreds of torch-bearing demonstrators, many of them shouting phrases like, “You will not replace us,” and “Jews will not replace us.”Organizers chose Charlottesville as the site of the Unite the Right rally as a rebuke to the proposed removal of monuments to Confederate generals in the city. The protests started on the University of Virginia campus with a march of hundreds of torch-bearing demonstrators, many of them shouting phrases like, “You will not replace us,” and “Jews will not replace us.”
That initial demonstration prompted hundreds of counterprotesters to converge the next day, setting up tense confrontations with the white nationalist demonstrators that culminated at the end of the day with Mr. Fields’s deadly attack.That initial demonstration prompted hundreds of counterprotesters to converge the next day, setting up tense confrontations with the white nationalist demonstrators that culminated at the end of the day with Mr. Fields’s deadly attack.