A Wisconsin man has been found guilty for killing six during a Christmas parade when he drove his SUV through a peaceful gathering. He defended himself inconsistently and sometimes got offended.
Darrell Brooks was found guilty of six-counts of first-degree murder. He faces a life sentence on each count. The Jury on Tuesday held a lengthy discussion on the issue and gave the verdict on Wednesday.
He faces 76 charges of the chaos last year Waukesha in suburban Milwaukee. Susan Opper, the district attorney for Waukesha County, said in her concluding statements that Brooks had intended to murder people that fateful day since he could have stopped after striking the first victim but instead chose to hit an additional people.
Susan noted that Brooks should have stopped when he hit the first person but he kept on driving. He knocked down the second but nothing occurred to him to stop driving. He kept on until he got to the end where there’s no bodies to hit, she lamented.
She played the video of the accused hitting people. Judge Jennifer Dorow felt uneasy while watching the video while Deputy District Attorney Lesli Boese held back his tears.
Brooks initially pleaded not guilty to the charges by reason of mental illness but withdrew the plea in September without any explanation. Just some few days before his trial, he removed his defenders and requested to represent himself.
He has engaged Dorow in argument for the entirety of the trial, refusing to acknowledge his own name and maintaining that the state has no control over him. Certain times the judge move him to another courtroom and play the recording proceedings to him to watch. Other times when he become disruptive his microphone is turned off.
The judge allowed him to give his closing remarks to the panel. He tried to defend himself by indicating the SUV had a throttle malfunction but Opper objected his defense and revealed Wisconsin State Patrol vehicle inspector testified earlier in the trial that the vehicle was in good working order including the brakes.
