Man Who Killed 6 at Waukesha Christmas Parade Sentenced to Multiple Life Sentences With No Release

Darrell Brooks, the man who purposely drove his SUV into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 2021, killing six people and injuring many more, was sentenced Wednesday to six consecutive life sentences with no chance of release. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow sentenced Brooks on 76 charges, which included six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and 61 counts of reckless endangerment. It comes after a 12-person jury on Oct. 26 convicted the 40-year-old Brooks on the charges. Each homicide count carried a mandatory life sentence. On Wednesday, Dorow decided she would not let Brooks serve any portion of those sentences on extended supervision in the community, which is the state’s current version of parole. Wisconsin does not have the death penalty. In addition to the life sentences, Dorow sentenced Brooks to 762 years in prison on the counts of reckless endangerment. "Frankly, Mr. Brooks, no one is safe from you," the judge said. "This community can only be safe if you are behind bars for the rest of your life. ... You left a path of destruction, chaos, death, injury and panic as you drove seven or so blocks through the Christmas parade." Brooks on Nov. 21, 2021, drove his red Ford Escape through a Christmas parade held in downtown Waukesha, located about 15 miles west of downtown Milwaukee. Six people were killed, among whom was an 8-year-old boy. The other deaths involved four women between the ages of 52 and 79, as well as an 81-year-old man. District Attorney Susan Opper had asked Dorow on Tuesday to make the sentences consecutive so that they stack up “just as he stacked victims up as he drove down the road." Mental Illness Justification Rejected Prior to Dorow's announcement of the life sentences, which had garnered applause from those seated in the gallery, Brooks told the court that he had a mental illness since he was young and didn't plan to drive into the route of the parade. He also apologized to those injured and those who lost loved ones as a result of the incident. It marked his first apology to them. "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." Brooks told the court that the incident "was not, not, not an attack," and that it "was not planned, plotted." He added later: "This was not an intentional act. No matter how many times you say it over and over, it was not." Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson last year noted that the incident was not terrorism-related. Brooks himself also didn’t explain why he drove through the crowd or share further about what he was thinking at the time of the deadly incident. When Dorow asked him what sentence he thought he should get, he didn’t answer directly but said: "I just want to be helped." Brooks had represented himself during his trial. In remarks to Dorow Wednesday, he said that he grew up without his father's presence, was physically abused, and that he suffered from mental health issues. He also said that he took medication and stayed at mental health facilities for short periods. Brook's family members—his mother and grandmother—asked Dorow to place Brooks in a mental institution instead of prison. Dawn Woods, Brook's mother, asked Dorow to make sure Brooks receives treatment in prison. She told the judge, "If they have to stay for the rest of their lives away from society at least they’re getting the help they need to become mentally well." Meanwhile, Mary Edwards, Brooks's grandmother, told Dorow that Brooks has been bipolar since he was 12 and that the disorder had caused him to drive into the crowd. But Dorow said she doesn't think Brooks has a mental illness. The judge noted that four psychologists who evaluated him said that he suffers from an antisocial personality disorder but not a mental illness. ‘Inappropriately Low’ Bond The Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office said last year Brooks should have been in jail after an arrest weeks prior to the Christmas parade inc