run out of time for him. [ laughter ] "nightline" is next. thanks for watching, everybody, good night! ♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, judgment day. 11 months after the deadly wisconsin christmas parade tragedy that killed six people, including three members of the beloved dancing grannies -- >> i think when it first happened, it was like, disbelief. >> a joyful holiday celebration that changed in an instant. >> 30 seconds prior, everything was normal. the next, people are screaming. >> the controversial trial of their convicted killer, representing himself in court. >> mr. brooks, you are now going to be removed to the other courtroom -- >> i don't consent to that. >> why he claimed the law doesn't apply to him. plus -- ♪ who will save your soul ♪ >> jewel. ♪ when it comes to ♪ >> the "who will save your soul" singer/songwriter out with new

music after seven years. >> music for me has always been therapeutic. it's my medicine. it's my prayer. >> the lessons learned from her painful upbringing and how she's helping those struggling with mental health this holiday season. >> the fact that it's been something that's comforted other people has been a great gift. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein.

♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. the emotion ran high in a courtroom in waukesha, wisconsin, nearly a year after the deadly tragedy at the city's christmas parade. from the start, this was no ordinary court proceeding. ♪ >> i attended the parade last year, like i do every other year since my kids have been little. >> reporter: for benita garcia and her family, an annual holiday tradition turned into a day of shock and sadness almost one year ago today. >> the first time i realized something was wrong is when we saw a red suv. >> reporter: onlookers and parade performers trying to make sense of what is happening. >> get out of the way! >> reporter: as a red suv struck their loved ones. >> eden! eden!

>> the car was going so fast and everything just happened so chaotically and quick that you really didn't know what was going on. >> reporter: the small town of waukesha, wisconsin, shattered when then 39-year-old darrell brooks plowed through the holiday parade. >> that was the worst thing i've ever seen in my life. >> lisa! >> reporter: dozens were injured. six people killed. jane kulich, jackson sparks, wilhelm hospel, virginia sorenson, tamara durand, leanna owen. of those killed, three were members of the milwaukee dancing grannies, a local dance troupe that's been a beacon of light throughout this tragedy. >> it was a total shock. i mean, we've never had anything like this. and i think when it first happened, it was like, disbelief. >> reporter: today, a glimpse of justice. the judge sentencing brooks to six consecutive life sentences and 762 years in prison. at the sentencing this week, victims speaking out about what they have lost and endured.

>> the trial has been dragged out and literally we are pulled back through to relive everything all because this person wouldn't admit it like a man and take what was coming to him. >> reporter: members of the small town finally getting the chance to publicly face the man that wreaked havoc on their families and community. >> what does it feel like to attend the funeral of a child your age? i hate that my kids know. >> reporter: the world horrified by the act of violence. transfixed by the chaotic courtroom scenes as they played out in realtime on camera. >> again -- >> it isn't relevant because -- >> i'm going to step off and give mr. brooks five minutes to cool off, and when that happens -- >> i don't need to cool off, i'm not angry at all. >> reporter: brooks' courtroom demeanor and defense of himself going viral. >> i don't understand and i'm not aware, so why are you asking me questions? >> reporter: claiming u.s. laws didn't apply to him. >> this medical stuff y'all got going on -- >> mr. brooks, i'm more concerned about --

>> stay seated. ♪ >> reporter: benita has lived in waukesha since she was a girl, raising her family here, owning her own salon, moxie beauty lounge. >> i love the location, the heart of the city. >> reporter: that location along the waukesha christmas parade route. >> at the parade, we were all sitting outside. outside of the salon. the parade was coming in this direction. then, all of a sudden, there was a red suv that came from over here. and it flew down. >> reporter: when tragedy struck, she was one of the many spectators who helped people to safety, bringing her family and friends into her hair salon. >> once we realized we were safe and we grabbed everybody that was with our group, i came back out to see if anyone needed anything. and we had tons of people kind

of sheltered and scared over here. we gathered everybody from the alley and brought them back inside to the salon and locked the door. >> reporter: as people huddled in stores and restaurants along the parade route, out on the street, horror remained. >> i have harper and dalila -- >> reporter: matthew rood was there with his 2 and 5-year-old daughters. >> 30 seconds prior, everything was normal, people are having fun. next, people are screaming. once the vehicle drove past us and i saw the person on the ground, within seconds, that one person was surrounded by about seven or eight people. they were doing what they could to assist that person who was down. >> reporter: during the commotion, his focus was solely on his girls. >> once i gathered my thoughts, i just wanted to get them out of that scene. from the commotion and the carnage, that luckily my girls didn't witness. >> reporter: the driver brooks had been released on bail for

allegedly hitting his child's mother with the same suv less than two weeks before the parade. as this case against brooks was getting under way, he made a startling declaration. >> i simply seek to represent myself pro per so that i can establish my sovereign citizenship. >> reporter: brooks said he would act as his own legal counsel, announcing he believes in the unfounded conspiracy theory that he is a sovereign citizen. >> the sovereign citizen movement is an anti-government, extremist movement that believes that long ago, starting in the 1800s, a conspiracy started to infiltrate and subvert the original government of the united states. sovereign citizens believe there are certain steps you can take, and once you've done that, our government has no more jurisdiction over you. >> reporter: experts say claiming to be a sovereign citizen is not a legitimate legal defense. but brooks stuck to it. what followed were weeks of disruptions and outbursts.

>> mr. brooks, you are now going to be removed to the other courtroom -- >> i don't consent to that. >> i have had a dozen or more interruptions -- >> i have shocks on my ankle -- >> thank you, everyone. >> i don't agree for a stop, i move for a motion to dismiss. >> reporter: one of the oklahoma city bombers, terry nichols, also claimed to be a sovereign citizen. he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. >> sovereign citizens can be amazingly disruptive in court. they can be theatrical. they can be extremely argumentative, obstreperous. they can demand that the bailiff arrest the judge. >> reporter: despite the disruptions, october 26, the jury finally came to a decision. it took 28 minutes to read all the verdicts. >> guilty of first-degree recklessly endangering safety -- >> reporter: guilty on all 76 counts. before the sentencing, the families of those lost publicly expressing the trauma he caused. >> there's nothing this court can do that will provide

justice, in my eyes, so all i ask is that you rot, and you rot slow. >> reporter: brooks' family pleading for him to get mental health help. >> mental illness caused them to do the unthinkable. they must be punished. yes, i agree, there should be some accountability. for their actions. but we also must render hope. >> reporter: but even in the waning hours of the trial, brooks continued to cause chaos, speaking for nearly two hours. then as the judge was reading her statement -- >> you need to stop right now or you will be removed. >> remove me. >> all right. he will be removed. he cannot simply stay quiet -- >> i don't concede to this just like i told you. >> reporter: but after it all -- >> frankly, mr. brooks, no one is safe from you. this community can only be safe if you are behind bars for the rest of your life. on counts one through six, this

court is imposing a life sentence without the possibility or eligibility for extended supervision, consecutive to one another. >> reporter: one life sentence for each victim. now with the trial over, the town looks towards healing and hope. the community planning together on the anniversary and will come together once again for a holiday parade this december. >> i feel like it was such a tragedy, it's hard to process it. and stay strong. but i have my faith in god. and we will just take every day as it comes. when we come back, singer/songwriter jewel. the "who will save your soul" superstar and what she wishes for this holiday season. ♪ who will save your soul ♪

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♪ after seven years, jewel is finally out with new music. that music so often reflecting her journey, which has not always been easy. now she wants those who are struggling to know they are not alone. my "nightline" coanchor juju chang recently caught up with her. >> music for me has always been therapeutic. it's my medicine. it's my prayer. ♪

and the fact that it's turned into a career and has been something that's comforted other people has been a great gift. ♪ i hear the clock at 6 a.m. ♪ >> reporter: jewel, the singer/songwriter who sold over 30 million albums worldwide. she's long been mixing meaning into her soulful music. her 1995 debut album "pieces of you" a 12-time platinum record featuring smash hits like "you were meant for me." ♪ and i was meant for you ♪ >> reporter: and "who will save your soul." ♪ who will save your soul ♪ >> reporter: jewel took a seven-year break from music but is back with the album "freewheeling woman." ♪ including the soulful single "no more tears." ♪ no more tears to cry ♪ >> reporter: she's also performing again. what's it like, anticipating going out on the road again? >> i had a seven-year break just to be a mom. i always promised myself that i

would put my happiness ahead of my career. my son's been touring with me. it's been so fun. he plays a little bit of drums, he sings with me. >> reporter: her lyrics still deeply infused with lessons she learned the hard way, once even living out of her car. your debut album. when you think about the songs, the fact that you were a teenager when you recorded it, what comes to mind with regard to what you were struggling with back then? >> i was really trying to understand, is happiness a learnable skill? what if nobody's coming for me? what if i'm coming for me? what if nobody owes me anything? what if i owe myself? what can i do? what am i capable of? you can really see that, my very first song i wrote was "who will save your soul?" i was grappling with those ideas. i wrote "hands" while i was homeless. i was shoplifting all the time. and i was going to end up in jail or dead if i didn't figure out something to do. and following my hands around

was my first -- what you would now call mindfulness practice. the idea that only kindness matters is because i was homeless and being treated like i was subhuman. that's always been my music journey. >> reporter: that journey inspiring jewel's "new, not alone" challenge online, raising awareness and funding for mental health support heading into the holiday season, reminding people they are not alone at a time of the year when they need it most. why is it so important to double down on mental health tools during the holidays? >> typically, mental health issues almost double during the holidays. and so just something like anxiety can become a lot more intense for people. whether it's just being around families that have unresolved issues or not having families. >> why the not alone challenge? how did you come up with it? >> i've been working in mental health about 20 years, trying to solve really complex problems for kids that are, you know -- have economic hardships or anxiety disorders or suicidal ideation. misery is an equal opportunist that doesn't care if you're

rich, poor, black white. it comes kind of like an inheritance. >> reporter: growing up in alaska, jewel herself experienced the trauma of a troubled family life firsthand. her mother left when she was only 8. she lived with her father, who was an alcoholic. >> i grew up in an abusive household. i didn't want to think that my life was already predestined. what happens to kids like me? what i was trying to learn was a new emotional way of relate to the world. the way i was taught wasn't going to lead to a good outcome. >> reporter: jewel moved out at age 15 and began suffering depression, an eating disorder, and panic attacks. by 18, she became homeless. >> i started developing panic attacks when i was about 16. i of course didn't talk to anyone about it. and then i started slowly, by the time i became homeless, started developing agoraphobia. >> reporter: jewel's agoraphobia manifested as a fear of leaving home. she says meditation and mindfulness allowed her to heal and focusing on gratitude was

key. >> the first time i got it to work was the first time i got a panic attack to be averted. it was this strange awareness that suddenly came over me that i hadn't -- i just kept going. some part of me just kept having the courage to keep going. even though so many things were against me. i wasn't quitting. i suddenly was really grateful to myself, which was so unusual for myself at the time. so it can be something that simple. simple that moves you very deeply. ♪ if i could tell the world just one thing it would be ♪ ♪ you're all okay ♪ >> reporter: through her own healing, the legendary "hand" songstress wants to bring hope. >> for the young person who out there is struggling, what message would you have to them about, you know, this idea, your challenge, that -- the "not alone" challenge? >> everything changes. why would i think i'm the only thing in the world that wouldn't

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he showed great discipline.

that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.