A grand jury in Charlottesville, Va., recommended on Tuesday that White supremacist James Alex Fields Jr., be given a sentence of life in prison, plus 419 years, after being convicted last week of first-degree murder when he plowed his vehicle into a crowd of counter-protesters during the “Unite the Right” rally in 2017, ultimately killing one demonstrator, Heather Heyer, and injuring dozens more.
Fields was convicted on ten charges: five counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding, one count of failing to stop at an accident involving a death, and one count of first-degree murder.
According to The Daily Progress, a Charlottesville-based newspaper, the jury deliberated for almost four hours on Monday and Tuesday.
In addition to his sentence, Fields faces a slew of fines relating to the attack, including a fine of $100,000 for his conviction of first-degree murder.
“Her death was an explosion to the world,” said Susan Bro, Heyer’s mother, in a victim impact statement. “We are forever scarred by pain.”
If Judge Richard Moore accepts the grand jury’s sentence – a common practice in Virginia, Fields will be required to pay $480,000 in restitution.
Judge Moore is expected to announce Fields’ sentence at a Mar. 29 court hearing.
The Daily Progress and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
