“This was not reckless driving. This was murder,” the judge said before she read out Mackenzie Shirilla’s verdict Monday afternoon.
The reason why they say this was murder:
Two weeks before the crash, she allegedly threatened to crash her vehicle when she was driving with Russo because she was upset over a disagreement they had. Russo called his mother and asked to be picked up, and a friend ended up retrieving him. In a phone call with Russo, the friend allegedly overheard Shirilla say, “I will crash this car right now,” prosecutors said in court documents.
This isn’t a drunk driver, or a thrillseeker, this is someone with murderous intent.
Considering she was unconscious as well, sounds like it was a murder/suicide attempt.
Sounds more like a mental health issue tbh…
Contrary to popular belief, people suffering from mental health issues are more likely to be the victim than perpetrator of violent crimes, more than their healthy counterpart. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.563860/full
She’s just a murderer.
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In most US jurisdictions if you’re “just” trying to commit a felony, like purposely crashing your car at 100+ MPH (160+ KPH) to cause grievous bodily harm to others, and someone dies as a result that’s automatically elevated to murder.
It’ll depend on the jurisdiction. But ‘intent’ for murder does not mean “pre-planned”. Heat of the moment intention to do serious harm is enough for a murder conviction in the UK (and, I believe, the US).
In this case, the prosecution accused her of pre-planning as well as intent, and the jury agreed with one or both arguments.
Russo, the judge, delivered a scalding description of the case before she read out the verdict, saying Shirilla had a “mission” she executed with “precision” that fateful day — and “the mission was death.”
“The [crash] video clearly shows the purpose and intent of the defendant. She chose a course of death and destruction that day,” Russo said.
“She morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she makes her way down the street,” Russo said, saying Shirilla made a calculated decision to drive that morning, when not many people would be around, on an obscure route she did not routinely take.
Prosecutor Michael O’Malley told NBC affiliate WKYC of Cleveland that the crash video was damning, saying, “The intent was obvious upon seeing that video that there was only one goal.”
Murder laws can vary by country.
She murdered two people with the intent to at least cause significant harm. That’s enough on the state she was in, thank God. She deserves life in prison.
Fucking hell that is horrible. And of course she’s the only one to survive. 100mph into a brick building has probably left her pretty physically fucked up and in constant pain. Hope she enjoys feeling that way in prison for the rest of her life.
She’ll spend 8 months in prison and appeal for a reduced sentence and get out on “good behavior” before she’s even served a quarter of her term. Don’t you know how the American legal system works?
Murder is a felony, so I believe you have to serve 80% of a sentence before being able to be eligible for parole
The bullshit sentences are the ones we mainly hear about, and many people have a bit of a confirmation bias because of it. But, you don’t have to look further than your own community to see that slaps on the wrist are not typical.
US citizens are the most incarcerated people on Earth, by an uncomfortable margin.
I can’t hear you over the sound of the affluenza defense being used.
You forgot the white woman modifier, you take a man’s sentence and divide by 4.
It’d likely the families of those she killed will be at every single parole hearing kicking up a fuss.
Murder with a car is often toned down to, “vehicular manslaughter”. It’s often times charged as a misdemeanor. I agree with you that it should always be a felony because it’s murder, but that’s not how the courts treat it.
More of this. Also let’s start holding rich people accountable of crimes also.
Remind me why we allow teenagers to drive 3-ton vehicles again?
“Gotta get them teens to work. And no public transit options please, they make my money pile smaller.”
-CEO’s everywhere
Remind the rest of us why anycunt needs a 3 ton personal vehicle again?
At risk of angering the vast majority of the fuck cars community, it’s generally because I live 30 minutes from my job by highway, and can’t afford to live within walking distance. And they won’t let us telework. I really really want to actually live close enough to bike.
So we have a large reoccurring expense that forces us to always have a job and stay productive in a modern society where this really isn’t necessary?
I’ll stick with my 1.2l, 50mpg shitbox thanks
Uh, I think society is pretty darn dependent on everyone working to sustain it.
The profit margins of the wealthy are dependent on everyone working 24/7 to sustain. Society can carry on just fine.
Because the vast majority of them don’t use the 3ton vehicle to commit murder.
You do know that adults use vehicles as murder weapons also, yeah?
I am sure they don’t.
Waukesha Christmas parade attack and the Nice, France attack?
The comment was on knowledge not events
The same reason we all have a personal 3 ton vehicle: to ensure we remain bound to a culture of sprawling roads and fossil fuel consumption.
So they can be exploited for cheep labor.
Remind me why we allow banks to control our economy again?
tbp the camry she drove was closer to 1.5 tons
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How much does a razer scooter weight?
Awesome. Judge all teenagers because of a deranged one.
What’s your stance on 27 year olds with driver’s licenses?
Yeah buddy i’m going to judge all drivers, because i kinda sorta vaguely don’t want me or others to die!
Are you against gun control too?
I’m not, but it seems like you are, correct?
Why would i be against gun control? I also enjoy not randomly having my brains blown out.
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A Camry weighs half of that, and regardless, she could have done this in any vehicle
Bcs we lack the infrastructure for them not to require a car & obviously want car companies, roadworks, and petrol industries to continue having huge profits.
So they can be exploited for cheap labor.
You’re not wrong. Being able to drive by 16 so that you can start working is the capitalist way.
Lol which vehicles weigh 3 tons. Aside from EVs. You mean 3 tons as in 6600 lbs right?
She was 18. That’s an adult.
She was 17. But I understand your point.
Legally sure, still immature and not someone who should be piloting a heavy vehicle capable of going 100 mph.
Most people aren’t, frankly.
You’re right and car rental companies agree with you as most of them won’t rent to anyone under 25.
Prosecutor: What gear were you in at the moment of impact?
Defendant: Gucci sweats and Reebok Classics.
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There are a lot of people in this post spouting their opinion on an article they very clearly did not read.
The mum of one of the dead put it well - justice was served but nobody won today.
Winning was not the goal anyway? Its not a game
Justice absolutely is gamified in this shit society.
Winning the trial was the goal. She was saying it’s a hollow victory nonetheless.
Jesus, I sympathize, this is awful…i was t-boned by a teen going 85 mph, I wish my attorneys had the same teeth this judge does
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Wow the way she’s crying is disgusting, she’s just sorry for herself not for the deaths she caused. No remorse, only regret for getting sentenced
Wow the way she’s crying is disgusting, she’s just sorry for herself not for the deaths she caused. No remorse, only regret for getting sentenced
How do you know that? I don’t know about you but I’ve done things in anger that I felt genuine remorse for later.
Never killed anyone though, I suppose.
Those look like Rittenhouse tears to me.
You mean legitimate tears from someone who had trauma from successfully defending himself against attackers? Did you watch any of the trial?
Boo hoo I murdered two people boo hoo. Can I get medal now? Boo hoo boo hoo.
There, that is what I think of your bestie. Go Rittenhouse about it to your family and “friends”.
It’s been two years since she made that video, regardless of whether it was made before or after the crash.
I’m not trying to say that she is remorseful, only that we cannot say that she isn’t based solely on her actions two years ago.
Looks like a narcissist to me.
Sure seems like she had a lot of issues at 17, that’s for sure. Most 17-year-olds don’t murder their friends and boyfriends.
I find her family’s attitude toward the whole thing troubling. I know my family, if I were in this situation and they had the same evidence, would be telling me to plead guilty and take responsibility. I have a feeling that concept was never big in her upbringing or her family’s.
It’s tragic all the way down.
Again it’s tragic for the victims, not for her. Saying it’s tragic all the way down, is a false equivalence.
Again it’s tragic for the victims, not for her. Saying it’s tragic all the way down, is a false equivalence.
I don’t want to be argumentative, but there is no false equivalence in my position. I never tried to apply any equivalence. Things can be tragic without being equivalently tragic, and one thing being tragic does not take away the tragedy of something else.
I think one could argue that you’re falling prey to the fallacy of relative privation. “X is worse than Y, so we shouldn’t care about Y.”
Tragedy is not a zero sum game. It is absolutely tragic that those young men were murdered. It is tragic that their families lost their loved ones. It is also tragic that this young woman thought the proper solution to her problems was to attempt murder-suicide. It is tragic that she threw away any promise her own life held along with theirs. It is perhaps not tragic, but certainly sad and troubling, that her family seems to think she did nothing wrong.
Yes, it’s more tragic for the victims, but it her story is still a tragedy.
It is important to note that I am in no way trying to excuse her actions or argue for leniency. She murdered two people in a horrible and reckless action. There are consequences for that action beyond the direct ones.
But empathy is important even for those we may hate.
Because of her intent and crimes- she had genuine murderous intent as the judgement said. She seemed very cruel and unhinged according to the article and presented evidence and the video showed her crying due to the judgement.
It’s been two years since she murdered those people. She could easily feel true remorse now.
I’m in no way trying to excuse her actions, I just think it’s worth trying to do some level of empathizing for people. Not that what she did was in any way justified, but I can’t imagine trying to live with myself if I got angry enough to murder someone.
It’s all speculation and assumptions anyway ! We can see different things. I feel disgust and see regret and you may see someone possibly showing remorse. We just don’t know for sure either way.
Have a good day fellow fediperson
Have a good day fellow fediperson
You as well!
Crying when the sentence was read doesn’t say anything one way or the other about her feeling or not remorse because that specific moment is about what’s going to happen to her, not about others, so she’s crying for herself.
She almost certainly feels regret (which is entirelly about the consequences for herself), but it’s unclear that she feels remorse (which is about the consequences for others of her actions).
If I was going to prison I would cry
It’s something that people often forget (because they aren’t like that themselves and have normal human reactions) is that narcisists, sociopaths, psychopaths and people with similar psychological disfunctions that make them act in “cold hearted” ways do feel.
However they feel only for themselves, never for others.
This is a bit unfair, though I didn’t watch the trial in full. We have no idea if she cried for the other lives or not.
It’s unfair of me, but it is my perception and my opinion which is only based in observation yup.
Anyone with a legal background able to help me understand how two deaths resulted in 4 murder convictions and 2 vehicular homicide convictions?
I can say she was convicted of two counts of both R.C. 2903.02(A) & (B)—basically “normal” murder and felony murder. Clearly they thought she did it on purpose and because she was committing another felony. I can’t say why those don’t merge together under Ohio law or if they are supposed to. Ohio is a fairly statutory state, so maybe they overwrite that common law rule?
Okay, felony murder makes sense as the other charges would be felonies. I don’t care much for felony murder laws because I feel like they deincentivize careful action in law enforcement, but I definitely understand where if that law is in place she caught murder for the actual murder then felony murder subsequent to the assaults.
Still feels weird that two dead people produced 6 homicide convictions though. Like, you killed them, that’s 2 crimes. You killed them with a car, that’s two more crimes. In the process of killing them with a car, which is a felony, you killed them. That’s two more crimes.
Not a lawyer but I believe the charges can be sub cats of murder and homicide.
I would have to double check.
How did she survive unscathed, while her 2 passengers both died?
Edit: I found another article, she was not unscathed: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12417047/Mackenzie-Shirilla-TikTok-doing-drugs-not-dying-jailed-murdering-boyfriend-friend-drugged-100mph-crash.html
This is an unbelievable tragedy, for all of them. She just turned 18, I wonder what her sentence will be like. I assume that in the US - unlike the situation over here in Europe - there is no special “juvenile justice” for young adults, so she might face multiple lifetimes in prison after being convicted for murder. If I remember correctly you can get separate sentences for each victim, which will sum up to your total sentence.
It’s a tragedy for the victims and their families, but I’m sorry, I can’t feel sorry for her. Seems she planned to harm them for petty reasons because she feels entitled. Probably a narcissist:
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No, the “juvenile justice” system in the US is… the American juvenile justice system
It has its own judges, facilities, probation offices, and everything.
Gotta keep those prisons stuffed. Glad to see absolutely zero consequences of a for profit system.
When adult justice is applied, then there’s nothing “juvenile” in that. I guess the thinking behind that (over here) is that you are not yet a fully developed adult when you are 18 and that you might get another chance in life than when committing crimes at older ages.
I believe the point is that there’s a process for deciding whether a juvenile should be charged as a juvenile or as an adult. It means a juvenile who is mature enough to be making cold, calculated decisions (like, “hey, I’m a juvenile, I can get away with more”) can still be tried as an adult.
Confused by the article. Is there a video from inside the car right before the crash?
there was video from CCTV and they also checked onboard computers and saw there were no attempts to slow down before collision
That’ll do it.
I wonder of she cried this much too for the two kids she killed. I think she needs a psychiatric institution instead of jail
If she insane she should and would have. She wasn’t so reality just hit her.
Just read up on her case. She deserves it. Fucking loon. Just die. Bye
She should be in a psychiatric facility. She attempted suicide and murdered two people in the process.
There sure are a lot of young women named ‘Mackenzie’.
Lots of fathers, born in the late 70s/early 80s, wanted a lifetime of “The Mac Dad 'ill make ya” jokes.
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I think it is a nice name.
Sounds like a sheep dog from new zealand
Sounds like a girl’s name. I know several girls named that.
