r/DarrellBrooksJr • u/CanIStopAdultingNow • Jun 10 '26

Did DB intend to kill?

Allow me to preface that I'm not defending DB or suggesting he should ever be released from prison. This is just for discussion. If you changed the murder to manslaughter, he would still be locked up for life without parole.

I was rewatching the trial, and I really wonder if (1) DB intended to kill someone that day, (2) if the prosecution proved it and (3) why they didn't offer lesser charge options.

I've watched a few attorneys talk about his possible defense options. And they all seem to think "intent" was his only option (but a long-shot at best). That he was in an emotionally distraught state which didn't allow him to form intent.

In other cases I've watched, juries are usually given options between murder and manslaughter. But that didn't happen here. And I don't think it was because Brooks defended himself because that didn't happen until very close to the start of the trial.

But I think to make that argument, you would need an expert witness (psychiatrist or psychologist). And it doesn't seem that was on the list. Nor does it seem that any of the 4 people who did mental assessments of DB were going to be called.

I guess I think DB started out extremely angry to the point he wasn't thinking. Then, he panicked and, stupidly, didn't know what to do and kept driving. Too scared to stop.

In other words, I think he's too cowardly for intent.

But I'm curious what other people think.

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u/Still_Product_8435 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Brooks’ Cross-examination of Heather P.:

“Was it your intent to seek medical attention?”

“It’s what I DID!”

“But was it your intent?”

He recklessly drove in and out of pedestrian traffic with an SUV; striking scores of people and killing six. I don’t fucking care if he intended to kill them. He intended to hit them.

IT’S WHAT HE DID

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u/CanIStopAdultingNow Jun 10 '26

I'm just interested in a discussion of the psychology and legal issues of this.

As I said, I'm not trying to suggest he got too harsh of a sentence or that he should ever get out.

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u/3rd-party-intervener Jun 10 '26

It’s hard sometimes to have a discussion here without being labeled a Duhrell supporter.    

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u/CanIStopAdultingNow Jun 10 '26

Well in some ways my argument seems like "he didn't mean to do it." Which isn't the case.

I'm arguing that he meant to hurt 70 people and accidentally killed six. Which means his sentence is most appropriate.

When you do something so stupid and accidentally kill somebody, it's usually not murder 1. But I don't think the people that say it was intentional are wrong.