Jury: Life, Plus 419 Years for Charlottesville Driver

James Alex Fields Jr.'s sentence in the death of Heather Heyer will officially be handed down March 29, but a Charlottesville jury made its recommendation known Tuesday: life in prison, and then some. The Daily Progress reports the jury recommended life in connection with Heyer's first-degree murder, and an additional 419 years for nine additional counts, which cover aggravated malicious wounding, malicious wounding, and hit-and-run. Fields plowed his car a group of counter-protesters during the Aug. 12, 2017, "Unite the Right" rally and was found guilty on Friday.

The AP reports the 21-year-old "stood stoically" and the recommendation was read. Judge Richard Moore will take the jury's verdict under advisement. Per Virginia law, he can lower the sentence but not increase it, and the AP reports judges in the state often go with the jury's recommendation. (More James Alex Fields Jr. stories.)