Motorist who killed 6 in Wis. parade receives life sentence
A man who killed six people and injured many others when he drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with no chance of release.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow sentenced Darrell Brooks, 40, on 76 charges, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and 61 counts of reckless endangerment.
Each homicide count carried a mandatory life sentence, and the only uncertainty Wednesday was whether Dorow would allow Brooks to serve any portion of those sentences on extended supervision in the community, the state’s current version of parole. She did not. Wisconsin doesn’t have the death penalty.
On Tuesday, as Brooks’ victims gave impact statements to the court, almost all of them begged the judge to deliver the toughest sentence possible.
Chris Owens, whose mother was among those killed, told Brooks: “All I ask is you rot, and you rot slow.”
Brooks drove his red Ford Escape through the parade in downtown Waukesha on Nov. 21, 2021, after getting into a fight with his ex-girlfriend.
Six people were killed, including an 8-year-old boy who was marching with his baseball team, as well as three members of a group known as the Dancing Grannies. Scores of others were injured.
On Wednesday, before the judge handed down her sentence, Brooks told the court that he suffered from mental illness since he was young and didn’t plan to drive into the parade route.
Brooks told Dorow in remarks that rambled past two hours that he has dealt with mental health issues for as long as he can remember and that he was physically abused, though he didn’t say by whom specifically.
At times he took medication and did short stints in mental health facilities and life was better then, he said.
Brooks also offered his first apology to the victims and their families.
“I want you to know that not only am I sorry for what happened, I’m sorry that you could not see what’s truly in my heart,” he said. “That you cannot see the remorse that I have.”