Darrell Brooks is seeking to appeal his conviction for driving his SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more.
Brooks was found guilty by a jury in the attack and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He received a life sentence for each of the six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, to be served consecutively, along with hundreds of hours of confinement for dozens of other criminal charges.
Brooks, 40, filed a handwritten notice of intent on Tuesday to seek post-conviction relief in Waukesha County Circuit Court, initiating the appeal process.
“It is not my intention to bring any controversy before the court, but it is my intention to have this postconviction relief matter reviewed and heard as quickly as possible as there are clear issues of the law and the legal facts in this matter,” he wrote in the notice, which was signed from Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.
Darrell Brooks reacts as Michele Allworth gives a victim impact statement on Brooks’ behalf during Brooks’ sentencing in a Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha, Wis., Nov. 16, 2022.
Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP
Additionally, Brooks made a request to have assistance from the public defender’s office. He had represented himself during the trial and was temporarily removed multiple times by Judge Jennifer Dorow for disrupting the proceedings.
Court records show the notice of intent to seek post-conviction relief was sent to the state public defender.
Brooks needed to initiate an appeal within 20 days of the sentencing, starting with filing the notice of intent to pursue post-conviction relief. The appeal process could take months, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
A jury found Brooks guilty in October on all 76 counts for barreling his SUV into a Christmas parade on Nov. 21, 2021.
Dorow sentenced Brooks two weeks ago during a two-day hearing that featured emotional statements from dozens of victims and the family members of those killed and injured.
Dorow acknowledged that the sentencing was “largely symbolic,” but told Brooks that “it needs to hold you accountable in a very real and tangible way.”
Waukesha’s Christmas parade is scheduled to return this Sunday for the first time since the deadly attack.