It doesn't really matter if it was an accident or not. It is a matter of responsibility. This is why our justice system has different degrees of homocide. There is first and second and third degree murder, and voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. (There are probably other sub divisions but I am not a lawyer.) That's why decisions like if a murder was premeditated or not are taken into account. Brandi clearly acted irresponsibly and that is why she is being punished.
I don't think that she got the keys planning on killing Daniel. It would be extremely hard to plan killing someone by running them over with a car. But even if he supposedly jumped in front of the car, (which is plausible if he wanted to commit suicide or was cocky enough to think that she would stop) she still ran him over and left. Even if it was negligence, it still was negligence and ended up as a homicide. Even if you kill someone through negligence you can still be convicted of manslaugher or murder. That is why there are tougher laws now for drunk drivers, I doubt that drunk drivers pick up the keys and say that they want to run someone over and destroy the lives of the family members. But they put themselves in a negligent position hence you can be convicted of murder if you drink and drive. It is completely irresponsible behavior.
Even if it was an accident, why did she steal her mother's car (yes, I use the word steal) and then make up a lie afterwards? Even if it was an accident she had no right to be driving a car that wasn't hers. She also had no right to be driving if she was emotionally upset like she and her family claim. That is endangering the lives of others and herself. Just as much as being drunk would. When my dog died I road the bus for a week because I was so emotionally messed up that I knew that it would be IRRESPONSIBLE to endanger the lives of others and myself by driving.
Yes she was only 17 and teens make bad decisions. But a car can be a lethal weapon and if the law says that you are old enough to drive (which is 16 in most states) you are old enough to take responsibility for your actions and to not put yourself into a position that could tragically affect other people's lives. If we are going to use age as an excuse then teenagers should not be allowed to drive since they are too emotionally unstable.
That is why I feel that Daniel should spend some time in prison and I feel like justice was served in her having a 12 year sentence (maybe she should have had more or less time depending on the circumstances but that is not for me to decide.) If she supposedly was innocent she should have taken it to trial.
