Darrell Brooks Jr. was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences for the murder of six people last Christmas when his red Ford SUV plowed through the Christmas parade in Wisconsin.
Brooks, 41, stared at, glared and disrupted Waukesha county Judge Jennifer R. Dorow, who gave over an hour worth of emotional remarks, before she kicked him out of courtroom. Brooks, 41, returned to the main courtroom almost an hour later and began fighting with the jurist before he was sent back into an adjacent room where he learned his fate.
“There’s nothing that can describe what happened on Nov. 21, 2021 better than the word “attack,” Dorrow stated, disputing Brooks’ earlier argument. “I tried to find a mitigating factor in the case. I waited patiently for an actual apology. It didn’t come to my benefit. “But for the victims.”
Dorow stated that there is no treatment or medication for those with evil hearts. “Child trauma and bipolar disorder, indifference to a child, or childhood trauma didn’t cause Darrell Brooks the acts for which they will be sentenced today.” This court is clear that Darrell Brooks understands the distinction between right and wrong and that he chooses not to listen to his conscience. He is driven by anger and rage.”
FACING ITS ACCUSERS : INFAMOUS SUBSPECTS WHO DITCHED THEIR ATORNEYS AND REPRESENTED THEMSELVES AT TRIAL
Darrell Brooks Jr. spoke to Susan Opper, Waukesha County District Attorney, in a Waukesha County Circuit Court, Waukesha, Wis. on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Dorow said, “Unfortunately, some people choose the path of evil.” I believe Mr. Brooks that you are one such person. My heart breaks for you and your family as a mom.”
Brooks had apologized earlier in the day and spoke for more than two hours about his childhood, his mental health, and his renewed faith. He told Wisconsin’s Waukesha county court that “What happened on Nov. 21, 2021 wasn’t, not, and not an attack.” It was not planned or plotted.
Six mandatory life sentences had been served on him for six counts of first-degree intentional murder.
“I want all victims in this incident, families, and those who have lost loved ones, to know that I’m sorry for what happened. I also want you to understand that the community of Waukesha is sorry that you couldn’t see the truth of my heart and that I feel the pain that I feel,” he stated. He said, “That you can’t listen to all the phone conversations that I have made with my family. You cannot count the number of tears I’ve shed.”
Darrell Brooks listens during his sentencing at a Waukesha Circuit Court in Waukesha (Wis.) on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
When asked what he thinks the court should do regarding his sentencing, the defendant replied that there were “issues” with him trying to answer those questions and that he was still confused about the “nature” and “cause” of the charges. He stated that he believed that the decision was made long before we arrived, but asked for her to account for his time.
He admitted that he was frustrated at times during trial. He stated that no matter what court or trial attendees thought about his trial behavior, it was not personal. He talked for several minutes about his frustrations with Waukesha County district attorney Susan L. Opper. He said that she was frustrated by him and that he was “angry.”
Brooks was convicted of 76 charges against Opper. Brooks stared at Opper as he spoke for several minutes about Brooks.
The Waukesha parade attack killed six people: Jackson Sparks (8), Tamara Durand (52) and Jane Kulich (52); LeAnna Owen (71), Virginia Sorenson (79) and Wilhelm Hospel (81). (Facebook)
Brooks wept at times when he spoke about his family and children. Brooks apologized to the judge, as well as those present, for his outbursts. He said that there was a part in him that didn’t feel able to defend himself. It was the pot boiling over. It was a mistake that I couldn’t control my emotions at times when I wasn’t myself.
DARRELL BOOOKS FOUND GUILTY FOR FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE in WAUKESHA CHRISTMAS PARADE MASSSA
Although he said that he doesn’t consider himself “a man God”, he said that he is still learning about it “with time, faith, and study.”
Darrell Brooks holds his head as Sheri Sparks (mother of Jackson Sparks, 8 year old), reads a victim statement. Brooks was sentenced in Waukesha County Circuit Court, Waukesha, Wis. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Brooks was sentenced only hours after Brooks’ loved ones, including his grandmother and mother, made statements for him. One day later, over 40 victims, including family members who were hurt, gave statements to a packed court.
DEFENDANT DISRUPTS TRIAL: DEFENDANT DISRUPTS OUR COURT AS JURY SELECTION BEGINS AT WAUKESHA CHRISTMAS PARADE
Dawn Woods, Darrell Brooks’ mother, gives a victim impact report during Brooks’ sentencing at Waukesha Circuit Court in Waukesha (Wis.), on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
As Dawn Woods, his mother addressed the court via video conference, he seemed to get emotional. Woods made her first statement, where she discussed the difficulties of families and those with mental illness. She requested that her son be shown compassion, empathy, and understanding.
DARRELL BOOOKS IN COURT
Mary Edwards, Brooks’ grandmother, said to the court that her grandson was suffering from bipolar disorder. She added, “Darrell has lost both his mind and his life outside the world.”
She ended by saying to the victims and their families, “I understand their pain, and my prayer is that the Lord will continue comforting and healing each one.”
WAUKESHA CHRISTMAS PARADE ATACK: JURY ENTERS DELIBERATIONS IN THE DARRELL BOOOKS TRIAL
Sheri Sparks is the mother of Jackson Sparks, 8 years old, who was killed in the parade. She reads a victim statement at Darrell Brooks’ sentencing hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court, Waukesha, Wis. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Sheri Sparks, whose 8 year-old son Jackson was killed in the massacre, said Tuesday to the court that Brooks had “violently ripped Jackson out of our lives.”
“I feel broken and gutted. She said that sometimes it hurts to breathe. “My mama heart aches for him.”
Jane Kulich’s mother, Aliesha Kulich, passed away. Aliesha cried because she had “never felt so alone.”
She said, “I never imagined I’d feel this much pain in life.”
Dylan Yourell, whose children were hurt in the parade, makes a victim statement during Darrell Brooks’ sentencing at a Waukesha County Circuit Court, Waukesha (Wis.), on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Brooks, 41 years old, drove his Ford Escape through a parade of people, including elderly and children, during a Nov. 21, 2021 Christmas celebration. Brooks was fleeing from the scene of an altercation with his ex.
Six counts of first-degree intentional murder were brought against him. Prosecutors soon added many more. Brooks initially pleaded guilty but then changed to not guilty by mental illness.
Dave Sorenson (left), the husband of Virginia Ginny Sorenson gives a victim statement while his son Marshall stands beside him during Darrell Brooks’ sentencing at a Waukesha County Circuit Court, Waukesha. Wis. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
The victims of the accident were Jackson Sparks (8; Tamara Durand 52; Jane Kulich 52; LeAnna Owen 71; Virginia Sorenson 79; Wilhelm Hospel 81.
Brooks was erratic and argumentative during the trial with the judge, prosecutors, and even witnesses.
Dorow repeatedly dismissed him from the courtroom after he raised numerous unfounded objections during the proceedings. He also behaved so outrageously that he was relegated to another courtroom for the trial-equivalent “time-out.”
An 8-year old girl who was injured and hit during Darrell Brooks’ parade in Waukesha County Circuit Court, Waukesha, Wis. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, gave a victim statement and drew in court. (Mike De sisti / The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Brooks stated to Fox News Digital in December that felt “dehumanized”, and was feeling “demonized.”
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A jury took only three hours to deliberate. On Oct. 26, a witness shouted from the gallery, “Burnin hell, you piece s —.”!”
This report was contributed by Paul Best, Mills Hayes and Michael Ruiz, Fox News.
