RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Supreme Court of Virginia denied an appeal Wednesday from an Arkansas man convicted in the beating of an African American man in a Charlottesville parking garage during the “Unite the Right” rally in 2017, three months after refusing to grant an appeal to another man sentenced in the group attack.
The state’s highest court upheld the sentence for Jacob Scott Goodwin, who was given eight years in prison, for his role in the beating of Deandre Harris. The assault quickly made headlines as it was captured on video and shared online.
Cell phone video showed Harris being beaten by a group, many of whom are white supremacists, including Goodwin, Alex Michael Ramos and Tyler Davis. Harris, who needed several stitches after the attack, was accused of hitting someone during the incident but was found not guilty of assault in 2018.
“The violence, mayhem, injury, and death caused at the hands of the racists and white supremacists who descended on Charlottesville for the Unite the Right rally can never be forgotten,” Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement after Goodwin’s appeal was refused, “But we can make sure that the individuals who broke the law or incited violence are brought to justice.”
In early May, the court denied an appeal from Ramos, another man convicted in Harris’ attack who was sentenced to six years.
“My team and I will do everything in our power to combat this white supremacist violence that we continue to see in the Commonwealth, and I will not hesitate to hold these racists and white supremacist accountable when they act on their hate,” Herring continued.
