Car slams into parade in WI

[JimMIA]

I don't really know the difference between terrorism and plain old killin' people, but it doesn't really matter, does it? Whether he's a terrorist or not, he's a criminal and deserves the height and breadth of what the legal system can throw at him. Whether he's a terrorist or not, those people are just as injured /dead.

Often, those "special" crimes like terrorism and hate crimes are just feel-good stuff for the legislators who pass them. There are exceptions, where existing regular laws aren't enforced well, but they also create additional facts prosecutors have to prove, and that can complicate things greatly.

The exception would be where the defendant is charged both in state court and federally, and the federal sentence is delayed until they serve all their state time. Having federal time still hanging over their head is often useful.

In this case, if he gets at least six life sentences served consecutively (instead of concurrently), that should be enough to keep him locked up for the rest of his life.

That won't bring the victims back to life, but it's about all we can hope for at this point.

 

[Sinder]

I don't really know the difference between terrorism and plain old killin' people, but it doesn't really matter, does it? Whether he's a terrorist or not, he's a criminal and deserves the height and breadth of what the legal system can throw at him. Whether he's a terrorist or not, those people are just as injured /dead.

As far as charges and sentencing I don’t think it matters.
It does matter though for another reason but of course its political so I won’t elaborate. If you’re paying attention to what is going on and what people are saying then you know why.

 

[punkin]

As far as charges and sentencing I don’t think it matters.
It does matter though for another reason but of course its political so I won’t elaborate. If you’re paying attention to what is going on and what people are saying then you know why.

I don't want to get political but here's what bothers me... each case should be tried on its own particular set of facts. Politics and worse, dogma and narrative, should never enter into it. I'm referring to another recent Wisconsin trial.

 

[JimMIA]

I don't want to get political but here's what bothers me... each case should be tried on its own particular set of facts. Politics and worse, dogma and narrative, should never enter into it. I'm referring to another recent Wisconsin trial.

Cases are tried on facts and evidence, not politics -- and I think the verdicts in Georgia today show that.

However, very few of us of any persuasion can separate our political leanings from discussion of some laws and trials. The Rittenhouse case was a good example of that, although I think this DIS board did a good job of keeping it civil in that discussion.

 

[EACarlson]

Someone asked yesterday why the only charges brought were the 5 1st degree murder charges. The Waukesha County DA is confident in those charges and anything else is superfluous. If Brooks is convicted or pleads guilty to 1st degree murder it's an automatic life sentence. The only wiggle room is the judge can order with or without possibility of "extended supervision" the WI version of parole. There was a very good explanation done by Dan O'Donnell, a talk radio host from Milwaukee who is also a law school graduate.

 

[JimMIA]

Someone asked yesterday why the only charges brought were the 5 1st degree murder charges. The Waukesha County DA is confident in those charges and anything else is superfluous. If Brooks is convicted or pleads guilty to 1st degree murder it's an automatic life sentence. The only wiggle room is the judge can order with or without possibility of "extended supervision" the WI version of parole. There was a very good explanation done by Dan O'Donnell, a talk radio host from Milwaukee who is also a law school graduate.

I'm sure there will be a sixth murder charge for killing the 8 year old boy, Jackson Sparks.

 

[MischaOz]

From the videos I've seen it actually looked like he was swerving to avoid hitting people and other obstacles at times. Going for an open lane to speed through rather than just trying to hit everything he could.

I was there. He was NOT trying to avoid hitting people.

 

[robinb]

The more his social media posts are coming into the news the more it's looking like this might be a hate crime and possibly domestic terrorism. He seems to have a real problem with Christians, elderly, and white people. He killed 6 people out of the hundreds of potential targets and 5 of the six met that category. The more social media posts that emerge the harder it's getting harder to believe those victims were random.

Well, it was Waukesha which is 96% white.

 

[MrsPete]

In this case, if he gets at least six life sentences served consecutively (instead of concurrently), that should be enough to keep him locked up for the rest of his life.

He's only 39 years old -- he will have plenty of years to rot in jail.

Someone asked yesterday why the only charges brought were the 5 1st degree murder charges.

Is this one of those "hold back one murder so we can try him again later, if we want to do so" things?

I'm sure there will be a sixth murder charge for killing the 8 year old boy, Jackson Sparks.
View attachment 625645

That's one adorable little boy.

I was there. He was NOT trying to avoid hitting people.

I'm so glad you weren't hurt!
Two bad thoughts:
- Perhaps he was swerving not to "avoiding hitting people" but to make his trajectory less predictable /so he could hit more people?
- Perhaps more elderly were injured because they couldn't run away as quickly?

 

[JimMIA]

Is this one of those "hold back one murder so we can try him again later, if we want to do so" things?

That's not the way it works. You get "One bite of the apple" -- one shot at whatever you want to charge him with for that incident.

The only time someone can be tried more than once for the same incident is if there are both state and federal charges filed. I haven't researched it, but I suspect the only federal charges which could apply would be hate crime or domestic terrorism, and I'd be absolutely amazed if those were filed in this case.

 

[JimMIA]

I was there. He was NOT trying to avoid hitting people.

I'm sorry you had to go through that. Hopefully the community will come together and help each other heal, but there are likely to be a lot of scars for a long time.

 

[punkin]

I was there. He was NOT trying to avoid hitting people.

I'm so sorry.

 

[MischaOz]

Also, the sidewalks were full of spectators, wouldn't things have been worse if he'd driven up on there? Population density was probably lower in the street.
Also, the sidewalks were full of spectators, wouldn't things have been worse if he'd driven up on there? Population density was probably lower in the street.

ETA: I'm kind of mentally comparing it to the truck attack in Nice a few years back. That guy was intentionally driving up on the sidewalks to hit as many people as he could.

In downtown Waukesha, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to drive on the sidewalk because there are permanent fixtures every few feet (streetlights, benches, garbage cans, etc).

 

[Pea-n-Me]

There is a LOT of detail in this story.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...undraiser-Waukesha-killer-Darrell-Brooks.html

 

[JimMIA]

There is a LOT of detail in this story.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...undraiser-Waukesha-killer-Darrell-Brooks.html

WOW. I had forgotten how long it's been since I've read actual journalism!

 

[punkin]

WOW. I had forgotten how long it's been since I've read actual journalism!

We are really in a bad way when the Daily Mail is considered actual journalism.

 

[JimMIA]

We are really in a bad way when the Daily Mail is considered actual journalism.

Yep. It shows how far we've fallen!

 

[JimMIA]

This touching piece is called "Requiem For The Dancing Grannies."

It was published in The Federalist, which is a political publication, but there is nothing political about the article -- it is simply about life, humor, and the value of being able to laugh at ourselves and have fun. It's a good, non-political read.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/11/23/a-requiem-for-the-dancing-grannies/

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We are really in a bad way when the Daily Mail is considered actual journalism.

Yep. It shows how far we've fallen!

At least they will report it. And you can’t beat their pictures.

 

[Cheburashka]

We are really in a bad way when the Daily Mail is considered actual journalism.

Judge an article by its own merits, rather than the name of its outlet. Journalism in general is in a horrific state today, with politicization widespread among all outlets, less experienced reporters, lower quality writing and proofreading, and more ethical lapses than ever.