Lawyers for Fields have asked the judge for leniency, citing his history of mental illness, being raised by an invalid single mother and the “trauma” of growing up knowing that his Jewish grandfather, Marvin Bloom, killed his ex-wife Judy and then himself in a 1984 murder-suicide. Fields was born in 1996.
However, court documents from the prosecutors focus on years of antisemitic and racist behaviour by Fields, including keeping a picture of Hitler on his bedside table.
They also pointed to a lack of remorse by Field for his actions; while in jail he was recorded talking on the phone about how Ms Heyer’s mother was a “communist” and an “anti-white liberal”.
Evidence introduced at trial also showed that the day before the rally, Field’s mother sent him a message urging him to “be careful”, to which he responded with a picture of Adolf Hitler and the words “we’re not the ones who have to be careful.”
The prosecutors said that Field’s history of mental illness did not excuse his behaviour in a way which would need leniency, saying: “Any mental health concerns raised by the defendant do not overcome the defendant’s demonstrated lack of remorse and his prior history of substantial racial animus.”
