Man who drove over Christmas parade gets life sentence

A judge handed down a half-dozen life sentences Wednesday to the man who killed six and wounded dozens by driving through the 2021 Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis. In October, a jury convicted 40-year-old Darrell Brooks of 76 criminal charges: six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, 61 counts of recklessly endangering safety, six counts of hit-and-run causing death, two counts of bail jumping, and one misdemeanor count of battery. Each homicide count carries a mandatory life sentence. The judge also sentenced Brooks to 762 years in prison on the endangerment counts. 

What did Brooks say for himself? Brooks, who represented himself during the trial, told the court on Wednesday that he has suffered from mental illness since he was young. His mother and grandmother tried to get Judge Jennifer Dorow to put Brooks in a mental institution, saying he suffered from bipolar disorder. But Dorow said four psychologists had evaluated him during the trial and concluded he suffered from an anti-social disorder, not a mental illness. Brooks apologized to the victims and said he did not plan to drive into the parade, but never explained his motive. He had fought with his girlfriend just before committing the homicides.

Dig deeper: Read Andrée Seu Peterson’s column in World Magazine on the roots of the violence problem.