James Fields Jr .: The jury recommends the life imprisonment of a white nationalist who killed a woman in Charlottesville, Virginia

A jury recommended life imprisonment over 419 years for James Alex Fields Jr. convicted of murder for driving his car to counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August.

Fields, 21, stood stoically hands crossed in front of him while a clerk read the verdict, which must now be considered by the judge, who will deliver the final award. Judge Richard Moore scheduled a sentencing hearing on March 29.

Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old civil rights activist and rights activist, was killed and nearly 30 injured. The jury made its recommendation Tuesday, one day after listening to the emotional statements of survivors who described devastating injuries and complicated recoveries.

The jury delivered its verdict after deliberating for about four hours over two days. Judges in Virginia often impose the punishment recommended by juries. Under state law, they may impose penalties lower than those recommended by the jury, but can not increase them.

Before issuing his recommendation, the jury asked Moore whether the sentences would be consecutive or concurrent. He replied that sentences were generally consecutive, but jurors could recommend concurrent sentences if they wished.

The same jury said Friday that Fields had been convicted of first degree murder and other crimes, rejecting his lawyers' arguments that he had acted on his own behalf. defense. Fields is eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted of separate offenses motivated by hate crimes by the federal government. No lawsuit has been scheduled yet.

Fields went to Virginia to Maumee, Ohio, Virginia, to support the white nationalists. After the rally, as a large group of counter-partisans were walking through Charlottesville singing and laughing, he stopped his car, backed up, then spun in the crowd, according to the testimonies and video surveillance shown to the jurors .

Wednesday Bowie, a The counter-protester who got caught in the trunk of Fields' car when he backed down was slammed into a parked truck and thrown to the ground. He told the jury that in addition to a broken pelvis and other physical injuries. She reported being hospitalized three times for post-traumatic stress disorder in the past year.

"Know that the world is not a safe place where Mr. Fields is located," Bowie said.

The Unite the Right rally was organized in part to protest the project of kidnapping a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Hundreds of members of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other white nationalists – emboldened by the election of President Trump – flocked to the university town to attend one of the largest gatherings of white supremacists of the decade. Some dressed in combat gear.

Subsequently, Mr. Trump inflamed the tensions by stating that " both sides " were to blame, a comment that critics saw as a refusal to condemn racism.

Heyer Susan Bro, a mother, spoke to CBS News about the anniversary of her daughter's death. She said that it was "difficult to say " if the country had progressed since the deadly attack.

"What seemed to be closer a year ago was not really close … artificial coverage on deep wounds, a deep infection in our society," Bro said. "I think the eruption of last year allows us to better understand how difficult it is to heal gradually and slowly.If you rush to heal, if you rush to grab and sing Kumbaya We will be back here in a few years. "