Judge Dorow sentences Darrell Brooks: 'Some people, unfortunately, choose a path of evil'

John Sexton 7:00 PM | November 16, 2022

If you’ve followed this case at all they you know that Judge Jennifer Dorow has dealt with and endless series of outbursts and shows of disrespect from Darrell Brooks. Just yesterday one of Brooks’ victims praised Judge Dorow in glowing terms, calling her a “saint.” And I’ve seen many people on Twitter saying the same. She has given a sustained display of judicial temperament that I imagine future professors will point to as an example, i.e. this is what it looks like.

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Today started out no different. Brooks had three people testify on his behalf, his mother, his grandmother and his good friend. Both his mother and grandmother talked about mental illness. And for once Brooks seemed genuinely moved.

Notice how different that was compared to yesterday when his victims were describing what they had suffered because of his actions.

Then it was Darrell Brooks turn to speak on his own behalf and say anything he wanted to that was relevant to his sentencing. He wound up rambling for nearly 2 hours.

He denied any intent to harm anyone.

An hour later he’s still talking about himself (not his actions and not his victims).

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The judge tries to get him to focus on sentencing and anything he has to say about that. What does he think should happen to him given what he’s been convicted of doing?

At the nearly 2 hour mark, Judge Dorow politely suggests he’s circling the drain and gives him one last chance. Brooks seems to be begging to be put in a mental institution.

Finally, he was done and Judge Dorow took a brief break before returning to issue her sentence. She started by spending about 10 minutes arguing at length that Darrell Brooks does not have a mental condition that contributed to his actions last year. She noted that he’d initially attempted to file a ‘not guilty because of mental disease or defect’ plea in the trial and that had resulted in him being examined by four separate experts all of whom agreed he was competent to stand trial and that mental illness did not motivate him.

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On the contrary, the experts pointed to his behavior immediately after the attack last year saying it demonstrated a clear awareness that he was in trouble and was trying to avoid consequences. He attempted to change his appearance, to flee the scene, and even once he was caught he repeatedly lied about his whereabouts to the police, claiming he’d been out of town.

Judge Dorow went on to say that she’d been “in the room” with schizophrenics who are genuinely experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations and she said those cases were clearly different from how Darrell Brooks presents himself. “It’s a very, very different presentation. It’s heartbreaking. It’s heart-wrenching,” she said. She continued, “Do the mentally ill sometimes commit atrocious crimes? They do. This is not one of those situations.”

“I’ve also had in my 11 years on the bench…of coming face to face with evil on occasion. There are many times, many times good people do bad things. But there are times when evil people do bad things…It is very clear to this court that he understands the difference between right and wrong and that he simply chooses to ignore his conscience. He is fueled by anger and rage. Some people, unfortunately, choose a path of evil and I think Mr. Brooks you are one of those such persons.”

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Judge Dorow suggested his real motive for doing what he did may never be known.

As the judge started talking about his past crimes, Brooks clearly got worked up and interrupted. The judge warned him once and then sent him out to the other courtroom.

With Brooks out of the room, Judge Dorow continued, becoming emotional as she talked about the video showing people being injured.

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Yesterday, the mother of Jackson Sparks spoke about losing her son and about how Jackson’s older brother, Tucker Sparks, was also hospitalized with serious injuries but survived. She told the court that Tucker has survivors guilt and blames himself for not protecting his brother. Many people in the courtroom were in tears yesterday during her testimony and today Judge Dorow had a message for Tucker:

Judge Dorow decided to take a break and allow Brooks back in the room for the final sentencing part of her remarks. Immediately, Brooks started talking about “subject matter jurisdiction” again.

And now Brooks is really getting worked up. When Judge Dorow suggests he’s just trying to delay he yells, “I don’t care about the inevitable!” He’s having a full-blown meltdown over Judge Dorow not allowing him back in the room the moment he made the request. He’s a mass murderer about to be sentenced to life but this is what he cares about.

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Again, she’s got the patience of a saint but even saints run out of patience eventually.

And with that he’s back in the other courtroom and Judge Dorow continues with sentencing. “I searched for a mitigating factor in this case. I waited patiently for an apology, a true apology. I didn’t get it,” she said.

Finally, she came to the sentence. “On counts one through six this court is imposing a life sentence without the possibility or eligibility for extended supervision, consecutive to one another,” she said. Then she announced the life sentences for each of the six victims who Brooks’ killed. She then gave him 17 years for each of the other charges amounting to 762 1/2 years plus another 305 years of extended supervision.

Here’s the full video. Skip to the end if you just want to see the sentencing.

Tags: SENTENCING

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