Nearly two years after the death of Heather Heyers and a federal judge has sentenced the white nationalist who plowed his car into a crowd of protestors in Charlottesville, killing one and murdering many others. Self-proclaimed neo-nazi James Alex Fields Jr. will spend the rest of his days behind bars after the judge sentenced him to life in prison. Fields Jr. was sentenced earlier today during a hearing in Charlottesville.
Federal prosecutors made a deal with Fields' in March. They requested to the judge that Fields', who's 22-years-old, gets the life sentence instead of the death penalty. A deal was made in March which took away the possibility of the death penalty if he pleaded guilty to 29 of the 30 counts of federal hate crimes that he faced. Both the prosecutors and Fields' lawyers agreed. Fields' is also not eligible for parole.
According to NPR, he was previously convicted on separate charges that were handed down by the state for 32-year-old Heater Heyers murder. His sentencing is set for July 15th. The jury suggested a life sentence, as well as 419 years and $480K in fines.
"It was cold-blooded. It was motivated by deep-seated racial animus," Thomas Cullen, attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said, calling the attack "a hate-inspired act of domestic terrorism."
"Charlottesville is never going to be the same," Cullen said. "It will be with this community, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, and this country, for a long time."