Jury recommends life plus 419 years for James Alex Fields in Unite the Right attack
A jury in Charlottesville has handed up a life prison sentence plus 419 years behind bars for a neo-Nazi sympathizer convicted of driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters after the “Unite the Right” rally.
James Alex Fields, Jr., 21, stared blankly ahead as the clerk read the decision. By law, the sentences are to run consecutively, unless the judge orders otherwise.
On Friday, Fields was found guilty of murdering 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer by driving his car into a crowd of counterprotesters following the rally. He was also found guilty of five counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding and one count of hit and run. Formal sentencing will occur on March 29.
Before the attack, he sent a photo of Adolf Hitler to his mother, prosecutors said during the trial.
Fields is still awaiting federal trial on 30 counts of hate crime charges for which he may face the death penalty.
Editor's Note: This post has been updated for clarity.
