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it's a beautiful day here in charlottesville - the sun is shining, it's not too hot, and some violent white supremacists are going to jail.
jacob goodwin & alex ramos, both convicted in may for the august 12th beating of deandre harris, are being sentenced this afternoon.
jacob goodwin & alex ramos, both convicted in may for the august 12th beating of deandre harris, are being sentenced this afternoon.
notes from the first day of goodwin's trial back in may start here:
the second day of the trial, concluding with goodwin's conviction and the jury's recommendation of a ten year sentence, is here:
alex ramos' trial was the very next day in may. it can't have felt good walking into the trial knowing goodwin had been convicted of the same crime just the night before.
my notes start here:
my notes start here:
notes on the second day of ramos' trial, concluding with a jury recommendation of a six year sentence, are here:
goodwin's sentencing hearing is set for 2:00pm today in charlottesville circuit court. ramos' will be at 4:00. in virginia, juries made sentencing recommendations, but ultimately judge moore has a lot of discretion in setting the sentence.
both men were convicted of felony malicious wounding, a class 3 felony that carries a sentence of 5-20 years. the juries recommended sentences of 10 years for goodwin & 6 for ramos, which will be considered along with the presentence investigation reports & testimony given today.
arriving at the courthouse now.
i wonder how goodwin’s attorney, elmer woodard, is feeling after this blow yesterday?
i wonder how goodwin’s attorney, elmer woodard, is feeling after this blow yesterday?
virginia courts don’t allow electronic devices of any kind in the courtroom. locking my phone in the tiny locker in the lobby... updates during recesses if there are any, otherwise you won’t hear from me until a sentence is handed down.
the judge honored the jury’s recommendation of ten years, with two suspended. goodwin will serve eight years, followed by 20 years of good behavior, 5 of which will be supervised probation. the jury also recommended a $20k fine, which moore imposed with $15k suspended.
no witnesses were presented by the commonwealth or the defense during the one hour sentencing. ACA antony said deandre harris did not submit a victim impact statement, “he’s been working very hard to put this behind him.”
judge moore to jacob goodwin after announcing the sentence, “what happened that day didn’t have to happen.”
16 letters from goodwin’s friends & family were submitted, attesting to his good character & his motives - protecting his heritage and the confederate monuments.
“this wasn’t anywhere near the monuments,” judge moore admonished. “this had nothing to do with the statues.”
“this wasn’t anywhere near the monuments,” judge moore admonished. “this had nothing to do with the statues.”
judge moore told goodwin, “it certainly had nothing to do with heritage.”
“people’s perspectives are so skewed.”
referring to the alleged motives for his presence and conduct on august 12th, he scoffed at “all these justifications.”
“people’s perspectives are so skewed.”
referring to the alleged motives for his presence and conduct on august 12th, he scoffed at “all these justifications.”
after the sentence was read, judge moore asked elmer woodard if he intended to withdraw as counsel, which woodard affirmed. goodwin announced his plan to appeal. goodwin will need to obtain new counsel and has 30 days to file for an appeal.
before the sentence was read, goodwin told the judge: “i’m sorry. what happened was awful.” “i was panicking.”
“i am truly, genuinely sorry for what happened to mr harris.”
“i overreacted and i was scared.”
“this is not a reflection of my moral character.”
“i am truly, genuinely sorry for what happened to mr harris.”
“i overreacted and i was scared.”
“this is not a reflection of my moral character.”
his “apology” was passive. he did not accept responsibility for his actions. his beating of deandre harris didn’t “happen to” harris - it was delivered, brutally, by goodwin.
goodwin also reflected in his brief apology that he and harris might’ve been friends under different circumstances. this is an incredibly bold lie from a white supremacist about the black man he nearly killed a year ago.
many comparisons were made, by both the defense and the commonwealth, to the sentence given to richard preston on tuesday and the jury’s recommendation for ramos’ sentence (he’ll be sentenced at 4pm)
of the comparison to ramos’ recommended 6yrs, judge moore said that “was a different jury and a different situation” and “mr ramos hit him [harris] one time” - goodwin hit harris “at least two, probably three times”
moore told goodwin that of all the actors in the assault on harris, goodwin was the only one who hit him while he was still standing. he was the one to knock him to the ground. “to some extent, it’s reasonable to say all of what happened can be attributed to your actions.”
elmer just departed in the same hired car he left in on tuesday. good riddance.
before goodwin’s hearing began, richard preston (sentenced tuesday) was brought in, jumpsuited and cuffed, for elmer’s motion to withdraw as counsel. preston intends to appeal and will be appointed a new attorney.
elmer seems to be withdrawing from all his big name nazi cases.
elmer seems to be withdrawing from all his big name nazi cases.
i’ve got additional notes from the hearing, judge moore always offers up quite a bit of commentary from the bench. for now, i’ve got to rest my notetaking hand for the ten minutes before ramos’ sentencing begins.
the jury recommended six years for ramos. of goodwin’s sentence, moore said “i’ve always felt i should honor jury verdicts” so it’s probable we’ll see him hold to that six years.
as we head into ramos’ sentencing, remember how he described his own actions
judge moore sentenced alex ramos to the 6 years the jury recommended, with the addition of three years suspended on the condition of no violations of supervised probation for three years after his release.
so he’ll get credit for the year he already served on this six year sentence. after his release, he’ll have three years of probation. any violation in that time, he’ll have to serve the additional three years.
judge moore left nothing to the imagination.
of ramos’ actions in that parking garage last august 12th, he said “you could spend the rest of your life thinking about this. it’s just evil. it’s beyond me.”
of ramos’ actions in that parking garage last august 12th, he said “you could spend the rest of your life thinking about this. it’s just evil. it’s beyond me.”
