The alleged killer who drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin last month, killing six and injuring dozens, said this week he feels like he is being “demonized” and treated like a “monster” in the wake of the deadly attack.
In his first interview since being arrested, Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, told Fox News on Wednesday that he feels “dehumanized.”
“I just feel like I’m being monster — demonized,” Brooks told the outlet. He did not provide any details about a motive.
Fox News described Brooks as “soft spoken” and said he “appeared calm” and “lucid” at the time of the interview.
Brooks said he had not been visited by his mother, who released a statement criticizing the criminal justice system in Wisconsin for failing her “[mentally ill]” son. Brooks has a criminal record nearly 50 pages long that includes domestic violence, firearms, drugs and other convictions, according to Fox News.
The alleged killer is also a registered child sex offender in Nevada and served time in Georgia after beating his ex.
“Instead of offering help and resources to combat the problem, a jail cell was given. Over and over again. When mental illness is not properly treated the person becomes sicker and sicker. It doesn’t go away once a person becomes an adult,” Brooks’ mother wrote on behalf of his family.
“We are not making excuses but we believe what has happened is because he was not given the help and resources he needed,” she continued. “Institutions that are equipped and have trained staff is what was needed as well as resources in the communities where people who suffer with mental illness live.”
Brooks’ mother added that mental illness must be taken seriously “by fixing a broken system or suffer the consequences,” adding that she believes “what happened in Waukesha will keep happening all over this country, in one form or another with more [innocent] lives lost and grieving families and communities” if nothing changes.
“Mental illness is real and the system is broken it can and must be fixed NOW, not next year or with a new legislation NOW. So many like Darrell that have fallen through the cracks because of a broken system that no one cared to address, can get the help they so desperately need,” she asserted.
Brooks has been charged with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and is being held on $5 million cash bail. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
