Right-Wing Hero James Fields Sentenced To Double Life in Prison Discussion Thread - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#15017844
Hero of PoFo's right wing, a man who could do no wrong, James Fields has been convicted on 29 of 30 hate crime charges at the federal level. While we are still waiting on the sentencing phase, it's safe to say that this normal white person will die in prison. He was sentenced to something like 250 years in state prison. These are the federal charges. If he were to somehow live long enough to serve his state sentence he would walk out of a state prison and into a federal one.

I am glad that this dangerous white criminal has been taken off the streets before he could murder more people. Our justice system does not adequately address the problem of white violence, but I feel that this specific case was handled well.

From the LA Times


An avowed white supremacist who deliberately drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a young woman and injuring dozens, apologized to his victims Friday before being sentenced to life in prison on federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, had pleaded guilty in March to 29 of 30 hate crimes in connection with the 2017 attack that killed Heather Heyer and injured more than two dozen others in Charlottesville, Va.

Prosecutors and Fields’ lawyers agreed that federal sentencing guidelines called for a life sentence. But his attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski to consider a sentence of “less than life,” hoping he would take into account Fields’ troubled childhood and mental health issues.

Just before Urbanski announced his sentence, the 22-year-old Fields, accompanied by one of his lawyers, walked to a lectern in the courtroom and apologized.

“Every day I think about how things could have gone differently and how I regret my actions,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

His comments came after more than a dozen survivors of and witnesses to the attack delivered emotional testimony about the physical and psychological wounds they had received as a result of the events that day.

“You had a choice to leave Charlottesville, but you did not,” said Rosia Parker, a longtime civil rights activist in Charlottesville who said she was standing feet away from where Heyer was struck by Fields’ car.

“You could have done anything else but what you did,” Parker said, her voice breaking as she stared directly at Fields. “So, yeah, you deserve everything that you get.”

Fields appeared stoic and didn’t look at Parker or any of the victims as they spoke.

Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, said she wanted Fields to spend his life in prison but also hoped he would get the medication he needed and that one day he would change his views and no longer support white supremacy.

“I hope he can heal someday and help others heal,” Bro said.

After the hearing, Bro said she did not believe Fields’ apology was sincere, but instead was a last-ditch attempt to get a lighter sentence.

Fields drove from his Ohio home to attend the “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12, 2017, which drew hundreds of white supremacists to Charlottesville to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Hundreds of counter-protesters showed up as well.

President Trump blamed the violence at the rally on “both sides,” a statement widely denounced as a refusal to condemn racism.

After Fields was sentenced, a Department of Justice official condemned his actions.

“Hate crimes violate the most fundamental American values of freedom and human dignity,” Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the department’s Civil Rights Division, said at a news conference with federal prosecutors.

“The bigotry and ideology of neo-Nazism, Nazism, white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan are a disgrace to this country, and illegal acts based on those should be eradicated from the United States,” Dreiband said.

Prosecutors said Fields had a long history of racist and anti-Semitic behavior and had shown no remorse for his crimes. They said he is an avowed white supremacist, admired Adolf Hitler and even kept a picture of the Nazi leader on his bedside table.

During the sentencing hearing Friday, FBI Special Agent Wade Douthit said a classmate described Fields as being “like a kid at Disney World” during a high school trip to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany.

Douthit read grand jury testimony from the classmate, who said Fields appeared happy and made the remark, “This is where the magic happened.”

The statement provoked audible gasps from the crowd that had packed into the Charlottesville courtroom.

The classmate said that when Fields viewed the camp’s gas chamber, he said: “It’s almost like you can still hear them screaming.”

Douthit said the classmate was so disgusted by Fields’ remarks he stopped associating with him.

During Fields’ state trial, attorneys focused on his history of mental illness and traumatic childhood.

A psychologist testified that Fields had inexplicable volatile outbursts as a young child, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 6 and was later diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder.

In a sentencing memo, defense attorneys said Fields was raised by a paraplegic single mother and suffered “trauma” knowing that his Jewish grandfather had killed his grandmother before taking his own life.


I know that the sentencing of James Fields will anger many of our resident rightwingers who believe James Fields did nothing wrong, just like his hero Hitler. However, I ask that you remain calm. Nobody has to die. Please do not kill anyone, white people.
#15017894
SpecialOlympian wrote:Hero of PoFo's right wing, a man who could do no wrong


I don't know S.O. ……. I got it from a reliable source here on pofo that a fly landed on Fields' nose and distracted him for a moment and that he had no intention of ramming that crowd of liberal scum at a high speed killing one and blowing more than a dozen others into the air ……….. :eek:
#15018338
SpecialOlympian wrote:I am glad that this dangerous white criminal has been taken off the streets before he could murder more people. Our justice system does not adequately address the problem of white violence, but I feel that this specific case was handled well.

See? If we just enforce the law on illegal immigrants, and white people shooting up heroin and defecating on city streets, think how much nicer our country would be! Enforcing the law is a good thing! It's nice that you are finally starting to see the light.
#15018340
Kaiserschmarrn wrote:Good to see people appreciating the harsh sentencing in the US. He wouldn't get anything close in most Western European countries, and probably even less with that medical history.


Yes, the sentencing is way too harsh.

This new habit of making sentences consecutive instead of concurrent creates this insane sentences, and serve more of a media purpose than any useful one.

In this case, a life sentence with the possibility of parole in 25 years would be more than adequate. Especially if he gets counseling.
#15018348
Kaiserschmarrn wrote:Good to see people appreciating the harsh sentencing in the US. He wouldn't get anything close in most Western European countries, and probably even less with that medical history.


Hmm, yes, but on the other hand, fuck nazis.

James Fields should be overjoyed that he is experiencing the same level of harsh sentencing due to degenerates and enemies of the people that he has always demanded. It's just unfortunate for him that it happened to him, rather than da libs, minorities, etc.
#15018383
Pants-of-dog wrote:Yes, the sentencing is way too harsh. This new habit of making sentences consecutive instead of concurrent creates this insane sentences, and serve more of a media purpose than any useful one.

In this case, a life sentence with the possibility of parole in 25 years would be more than adequate. Especially if he gets counseling.

I wasn't aware that this was new, but your consistency is appreciated.

I'm skeptical that counselling helps in cases such as this, but that's another question.
#15018389
@SpecialOlympian @Kaiserschmarrn

The reason why the sentence was harsh was because the crime was a hate crime. I think the sentence fits the crime. In my judgement, counseling and education can help and people are capable of changing for the better. But this was also a hate crime and somebody was murdered. So, regardless of the fact that counseling and education can help change people for the better, he still has to pay the price for the crime he committed. And in this case, I feel the punishment fits the crime. I am also not opposed to the death penalty in such cases either when a hate crime is committed and it involves murder or the homicide of somebody.
#15018391
Kaiserschmarrn wrote:I wasn't aware that this was new, but your consistency is appreciated.

I'm skeptical that counselling helps in cases such as this, but that's another question.


It is new in Canada, so it is new for me, though I think it has been the norm in the US for decades now.
#15018413
Politics_Observer wrote:The reason why the sentence was harsh was because the crime was a hate crime. I think the sentence fits the crime. In my judgement, counseling and education can help and people are capable of changing for the better. But this was also a hate crime and somebody was murdered. So, regardless of the fact that counseling and education can help change people for the better, he still has to pay the price for the crime he committed. And in this case, I feel the punishment fits the crime. I am also not opposed to the death penalty in such cases either when a hate crime is committed and it involves murder or the homicide of somebody.

People have too much confidence in the effects of counselling in my view. In the scenario suggested by Pants-of-dog, it's quite possible that in 25 years this guy will no longer be dangerous anyway, as violent offending in men drops off dramatically with age. And if his mental health played a role, there's also evidence that personality disorders decrease in severity as people get older.

Of course, danger to society is only one factor. There's also justice being served and deterrence.
#15018421
@Kaiserschmarrn

People are a product of their environments. If they are taught hate they are going to hate. Also, people come from dysfunctional families where counseling and medication can help those who come from dysfunctional families. Sure, people should be held accountable for their actions. But on the same token, people can change and become better after they have paid the price for their actions. Just because people make one mistake doesn't mean they should be doomed for the rest of their lives (and that also depends on the magnitude of the mistake too though). But on the other hand if it's murder and a hate crime then yeah, hate crimes sentencing is warranted and so is the death penalty if it is a hate crime that involves murder. People seem to think for some reason that when other people make a mistake a they should be crucified and doomed for life and they are irredeemable and that's just not the case. Nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes and pays the price for them. But that doesn't mean they should be doomed for life and are not redeemable.
#15018423
Politics_Observer wrote:People are a product of their environments.

To some extent, but how much is unclear. We are very far away from understanding this.

Politics_Observer wrote:If they are taught hate they are going to hate. Also, people come from dysfunctional families where counseling and medication can help those who come from dysfunctional families. Sure, people should be held accountable for their actions. But on the same token, people can change and become better after they have paid the price for their actions. Just because people make one mistake doesn't mean they should be doomed for the rest of their lives (and that also depends on the magnitude of the mistake too though). But on the other hand if it's murder and a hate crime then yeah, hate crimes sentencing is warranted and so is the death penalty if it is a hate crime that involves murder. People seem to think for some reason that when other people make a mistake a they should be crucified and doomed for life and they are irredeemable and that's just not the case. Nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes and pays the price for them. But that doesn't mean they should be doomed for life and are not redeemable.

Just in case this isn't clear, I'm not against the death penalty or life sentences without parole. In this case, it would depend on the contribution of the mental health issues mentioned in the article and we'd need a lot more details to assess this. Overall, I'd err on the side of caution when it comes to ever letting him out again.
#15018432
@Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserchmarrn wrote:Overall, I'd err on the side of caution when it comes to ever letting him out again.


I would err on the side of caution too. The government has a duty to protect ALLL citizens and not just one segment of the population. Prison should also not be used as a form of cheap labor or just merely a system of power and control over others either. It should be used as a system to genuinely administer true justice and to ensure public safety both in the short and long term (and don't think what goes on behind prison walls doesn't effect the public outside those prison walls because it does and it will).

But all too often, prison here in the US incarcerates far more black people than anybody else and it's a legacy of slavery and white supremacy that has not been addressed yet in this country. It is all too often used as a form of cheap labor by passing laws that legislators and their financial backers who put them office know will disproportionately effect the less wealthy and powerful black people who are more easily convicted of crimes and incarcerated for cheap labor to make money off of. And the more things change, the more things stay the same. Prison here in the US is the new Jim Crow.
#15018436
Politics_Observer wrote:I would err on the side of caution too. The government has a duty to protect ALLL citizens and not just one segment of the population. Prison should also not be used as a form of cheap labor or just merely a system of power and control over others either. It should be used as a system to genuinely administer true justice and to ensure public safety both in the short and long term (and don't think what goes on behind prison walls doesn't effect the public outside those prison walls because it does and it will).

I don't have a problem with prison labour.

Politics_Observer wrote:But all too often, prison here in the US incarcerates far more black people than anybody else and it's a legacy of slavery and white supremacy that has not been addressed yet in this country. It is all too often used as a form of cheap labor by passing laws that legislators and their financial backers who put them office know will disproportionately effect the less wealthy and powerful black people who are more easily convicted of crimes and incarcerated for cheap labor to make money off of. And the more things change, the more things stay the same. Prison here in the US is the new Jim Crow.

It's mostly a function of higher violent crime rates, but we probably should derail this thread.
#15018441
Kaiserschmarrn wrote: There's also justice being served


In this case a moral panic being was being served. They gave a slow witted bipolar schizophrenic 500 years to alleviate their collective white guilt and prove they aren't racists. :knife:

and deterrence.


There's no deterrent for stupid and crazy.
#15018444
@Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiser wrote:I don't have a problem with prison labour.


I have a problem with prison labor being used for profit and by private companies to make money off of prisoners by paying them (if they even get paid at all) far less than the lawful minimum wage. It incentivizes people to pass legislation that will target the less wealthy and the disenfranchised to imprison them so that others can exploit them for profit. The goal of such legislation only being to provide a cheap labor supply to private companies who put politicans into office. The goal of such legislation not being to protect or serve the public good and whose only purpose is to serve the private gain of profit to private companies.

Kaiser wrote:It's mostly a function of higher violent crime rates, but we probably should derail this thread.


Yes and people who live in poverty tend to have more violent crime and less resources to hire lawyers to defend them in court so they tend to end up in prison more often and exploited by private companies for a profit. If we kept these laws, we might as well just get rid of those laws that imprison these people in the first place and simply make slavery legal again. Might as well, it's the same thing either way.
#15018726
Sivad wrote:In this case a moral panic being was being served. They gave a slow witted bipolar schizophrenic 500 years to alleviate their collective white guilt and prove they aren't racists. :knife:

I can't really tell whether this sentence is harsher than usual in the US. My impression is that it isn't rare for people to get extremely long sentences.

Sivad wrote:There's no deterrent for stupid and crazy.

I'm not convinced it's very effective in cases such as this, but it is a motive and the message it is supposed to send is obviously not restricted to only stupid or crazy people.

Politics_Observer wrote:I have a problem with prison labor being used for profit and by private companies to make money off of prisoners by paying them (if they even get paid at all) far less than the lawful minimum wage. It incentivizes people to pass legislation that will target the less wealthy and the disenfranchised to imprison them so that others can exploit them for profit. The goal of such legislation only being to provide a cheap labor supply to private companies who put politicans into office. The goal of such legislation not being to protect or serve the public good and whose only purpose is to serve the private gain of profit to private companies.

I'm not a fan of private prisons. I just have no qualms about putting prisoners to work.

Politics_Observer wrote:Yes and people who live in poverty tend to have more violent crime and less resources to hire lawyers to defend them in court so they tend to end up in prison more often and exploited by private companies for a profit.

Poverty can't explain the large differences in violent crime rates among different US ethnicities/races.

Politics_Observer wrote:If we kept these laws, we might as well just get rid of those laws that imprison these people in the first place and simply make slavery legal again. Might as well, it's the same thing either way.

Hyperbole like this is quite boring.

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