Last year, Darrell Brooks killed six people and injured scores more when he drove his SUV into a throng of people attending a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to life in prison without the prospect of extended supervision.
Last month, a jury convicted 40-year-old Brooks guilty on all seventy-six charges related to the attack, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide involving a deadly weapon. This was a resounding victory for the prosecution.
After hearing victim and family statements over two days, Judge Jennifer Dorow handed down the mandatory life sentence without the possibility of continuation of supervision for all first-degree murder counts against Brooks. She was adamant that the sentences would be read in sequence.
On top of that, Dorow handed down punishments reaching hundreds of years for the other seventy counts that found him guilty. With each of the sixty-one counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety by means of a deadly weapon, she handed down a 17½ year sentence to Brooks.
“No matter what you do, you never feel any regret. According to Dorow, you lack empathy. “To be honest, Mr. Brooks, you can harm anyone.”
For over two hours, Brooks told the court that he still doesn’t get why this terrible thing happened.
That is, “the why, the how,” Brooks asserted. How did things ever veer so drastically from how they ought to be? No matter what many people think of me, my family, or my ideas, I am confident in my identity. I don’t have any angry words, and God knows who I am.
As he claimed he was trying to take the “high road” by not “throw shots” at anyone, he attacked Susan Opper, the district attorney for Waukesha County, stating he would never appreciate “how you did your job” and that her concerns about his crimes were irrelevant.
Mary Edwards, Brooks’s grandma, expressed her deepest regrets, saying, “to those who have been hurt so badly by what has happened, this tragedy that has been caused by my grandson,” and prayed that her grandson “will sincerely and humbly apologize.” Brooks, speaking on his own behalf, apologised once, stating that he felt regret but that no one can see it.
His statement before the court was as follows: “I want you to know not only am I sorry for what happened, I’m sorry that you could not see what’s truly in my heart, that you cannot see the remorse that I have.” So he concluded his statement. “That there are too many tears for you to tally this year.”
Even though Brooks’ loved ones brought up his mental health throughout the court, the judge ruled that it had nothing to do with his decision to crash into a huge gathering. Dorow asserted that Brooks had a moral compass, referencing findings from four mental health assessments. She said he shows no empathy or regret.
Can people with mental illness occasionally perpetrate heinous acts? Yes, they actually do. “This is not like those other cases,” Dorow declared. While good people do horrible things on occasion, evil people do bad things on occasion as well.
“For a wicked heart, there is no cure or medicine.”
In the past, Brooks has stated his intention to challenge his conviction.
Maximum punishments were requested by the prosecution.
The prosecution has requested that Brooks spend the maximum possible sentences in a consecutive fashion for the attack that occurred on November 21, 2021.
“You saw the videos. According to Opper, this was not him smashing into a mob of fifty people all at once. “He hit one and continued. I hit two and continued. Once you get three, keep going—the entire length of the street. Your honor, those are consecutive phrases. The same way he piled victims as he carelessly drove down the road, that constitutes purposeful, willing, volitional action that justifies successive sentences layered on top of each other.
The 762½ years for reckless endangerment were supplemented by three years each for two convictions of bail-jumping and nine months for domestic assault, according to Dorow. She argued that the community’s safety necessitated the hefty prison term. “Undue depreciation of the seriousness of these offenses” would result from doing anything less, she argued.
“It is necessary – admittedly symbolic, considering the length of time I have imposed on you today – because, to be honest, you deserve it,” Dorow stated.
It is the responsibility of the state Department of Corrections to decide on mental health therapy, she stated.
On Tuesday, survivors and loved ones of the victims started talking about the suffering and loss they’ve experienced. Relatives of Milwaukee Dancing Grannies member Virginia Sorenson—who was one of three members killed in the attack—were among the over forty people who gave testimonies, according to WTMJ.
David, Sorenson’s husband, mentioned that he will still be dealing with mourning. “I am grateful for the support and love from my family, which has allowed me to begin putting the pieces of my broken life back together.”
“I beg you to sentence this wicked creature to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the heartless murder of my wife,” Sorenson urged the judge, according to WTMJ, while other victims who addressed the court expressed their willingness to forgive the perpetrator.
According to the station, 52-year-old Jane Kulich’s daughter Alisha Kulich expressed her sorrow that her mother will not be able to witness many important moments in the lives of her siblings, herself, and Jane Kulich’s grandkids.
“She will not be able to witness my commitment ceremonies or my marriage to the one I love,” Alisha Kulich expressed. “In addition, she will never meet my future grandchildren, and they will never know the joy of having a doting grandmother.”
How do you manage to hit a home run and keep going?
Along with Sorenson and Kulich, the victims included 8-year-old Jackson Sparks, 52-year-old Tamara Durand, 71-year-old Lee Owen, and 81-year-old Wilhelm Hospel. In the midst of the procession, Sparks was accompanied by his baseball team. Sorenson, Durand, and Owen were all Dancing Grannies; Hospel was the spouse of one of the Dancing Grannies who managed to survive the attack.
Evidence presented by the prosecution established that Brooks deliberately plowed through the throng. Brooks looked “directly at him, and it appeared he had no emotion on his face,” according to the officer who stood in front of Brooks’ car and ordered him to halt, as stated in a criminal complaint.
A witness stated that Brooks was attempting to avoid vehicles, not people, and made no effort to slow down; the SUV then accelerated past the officer, came to a stop at an intersection, and resumed its acceleration, with tires screeching, according to the complaint. “Bodies and objects” flew from the vehicle.
During his emotional closing argument, Brooks speculated on the possible outcomes in the event that the driver became terrified due to a car malfunction and was unable to stop the vehicle. He asserted that the car he was operating was recalled, but Dorow removed such comments from the official record.
Brooks’ public defenders rescinded his not-guilty plea in September, despite his June not-guilty plea for reasons of insanity. Dorow let Brooks represent himself after they withdrew from representing him.
During the trial, he became aggressive and disruptive, frequently interrupting Dorow to make absurd arguments. Whenever it was Dorow’s turn to speak, he would place Brooks in a separate room and have him participate through a monitor while keeping him muffled. After interrupting the judge twice on Wednesday, Brooks was twice ordered to leave the courtroom.
The judge was asked by Brooks’ mother, Dawn Woods, not to permit it because she was worried her son couldn’t defend himself, according to WTMJ.
She stated that he lacked the mental stability to comprehend the grave error he was committing by attempting to represent himself. “Just from that, it should be clear that he cannot represent himself in a legal matter.”
Less than two weeks prior to the procession, Brooks was freed from prison on $1,000 bond after facing charges of domestic violence. Court records indicate that he faced accusations of allegedly running over a lady who professed to be his child’s mother. The bond amount was later defined by prosecutors as being “inappropriately low.”
