A Waukesha County jury will almost certainly greet Brooks’ arguments with deep skepticism, he said. Juries often view insanity defenses as weak excuses, Cohen said. People erected a makeshift memorial, attended prayer vigils and city officials have hung paintings of the six people who were killed in City Hall. The incident sparked multiple fundraisers for survivors and families of the dead. Defendants can’t become intoxicated voluntarily and then argue that the drug caused the break with reality unless they can show it caused an unexpected reaction, he said. That wouldn’t support an insanity defense, Cohen said. Nothing has been released publicly by either the defense or prosecution suggesting he was of sound mind or mentally ill. HAS ANY EVIDENCE EMERGED THAT SUGGESTS BROOKS HAS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES? “Somebody who was so mentally ill they didn’t know what they were doing was wrong wouldn’t have done that,” Adams said. They can argue Brooks’ decision to eventually turn off the parade route and try to hide shows he understood his actions were illegal, Adams said. Prosecutors probably won’t concede insanity given the high-profile nature of the case, Adams said. “They have their reputations on the line,” he said. The first hurdle for the defense will be finding a psychologist willing to declare Brooks was mentally ill, he said. Even notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who admitted strangling and butchering 17 men or boys over 13 years and dismembering some of the victims, failed to prove he was insane during his trial, Adams noted. His current mental state is irrelevant.Įxtremely difficult, according to Daniel Adams, a former Milwaukee County prosecutor who handled a dozen insanity cases during his tenure. They will need to show Brooks has a history of mental illness and what happened to him on the day of the parade that caused the psychotic episode, Cohen said. Ziv Cohen, a New York-based forensic psychiatrist who has consulted on more than 50 homicide cases. He would be allowed to eventually petition for his release, however.īrooks’ attorneys will have to show by a preponderance of the evidence that during the parade Brooks essentially lost touch with reality, said Dr. If the jury makes such a finding, Brooks would avoid prison and instead be committed to a mental institution for the duration of the sentences that accompany the criminal charges. ![]() If he’s found guilty, she will hold another trial with the same jury to determine whether he was so mentally ill that he didn’t know he was breaking the law or couldn’t conform his actions to the law. ![]() If there’s ultimately enough evidence to support the plea, Dorow will conduct a jury trial to determine whether Brooks committed the offenses.
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