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Topic : 03/16 Cheerleader Scandal

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Created on : Friday, October 07, 2005, 03:42:52 pm

Author : DrPhilBoard1

(Original Air Date: 10/13/05) In a heartbeat, your entire life can change. No one knows this better than the families of Brandi and Daniel. Seventeen-year-old Brandi was a cheerleader, an excellent student and an all-American girl. She was in love with athletic 18-year old Daniel. Now he’s dead and she finds herself behind bars serving a 12-year sentence, all because of what happened in just a split second. Was it murder or simply a horrific accident? Hear members of both families describe how the tragedy unfolded, and the struggle to put together the pieces of their shattered lives. Plus, Dr. Phil visits Brandi in prison to ask some very hard questions. She has an emotional message for Daniel's mother -- and for Daniel. Talk about the show here.

Find out what happened on the show.

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stone62

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October 13, 2005, 9:37 am PDT

Intense Relationship!

This relationship was far too intense for Daniel and Brandi to handle and the consequence for their inability to work through it in a mature manner had dire results. Although I do not have all of the facts, I did learn in one hour that Daniel was probably obsessed with Brandi and most likely had very few friends as a support group (Brandi was his life). I am convinced had Brandi not killed Daniel, he would have killed her. I am also of the opinion that Daniel's death was an accident - I did not sense that Brandi's intention was to murder Daniel.

As for Brandi, she should have walked away from that relationship. Her parents saw the abuse and and I am at a loss as to why they would allow that relationship to continue. Brandi mentioned in her inteview with Dr. Phil that her mother was a strong person which leads to me to believe that self-esteem was a daily lesson in that household yet, it was not practiced.

Bottom line: Brandi's sentence does not fit the crime. Daniel had a death wish, either his or hers and, unfortunately, his wish came true. I pray for his soul and hope that he has found peace. His family must forgive and move on...to find their peace.

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n3oif1

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October 13, 2005, 9:40 am PDT

10/13 Cheerleader Scandal

Quote From: knv1979

I would have taught him to respect women. The incident was an accident. I would grieve the loss of my son, but I would not want a girl to sit in jail because she made a tragic mistake. It takes two to tango. They both had something to do with the incident, and unfortunately, Daniel died due to a horrible mistake. In Brandi's interview, she stated that her lawyer changed something on her plea before going into court. She agreed to a plea because she felt that she should serve some time, because Daniel died from the accident, but she didn't think she deserved 12 years (and neither do I). You can tell that Brandi is remorseful, I hope she gets paroled. You have to put yourself in Brandi's shoes. She made a spit second decision, and it was a mistake. It could happened to any of us. I know I can personally think of times where I had to make a split second decision, and the result could have been bad, but I was lucky enough to have a positive outcome. No one is perfect, so I think Brandi deserves a second chance.

I watched the show today and from what I got from it, she did it on purpose, I feel she should serve time for it maybe not the full 12 years but at least most of it. She had no right to go into her parents room to get the keys for the car. I mean she should have awaken her father and had him take her over there and maybe have the police go with them since they said there had been police reports of harassment from him. As the saying goes 'Do the Crime Do the Time'

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fielderno1

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October 13, 2005, 9:41 am PDT

polygraph tests

If polygraph testing is as good today as they would have us believe, why don't they test Brandi and ask her if she killed Daniel intentionally?

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jen2004

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October 13, 2005, 9:42 am PDT

Accident?

This story really touched me because on the last day of my senior year of high school a classmate and a mother was shot and killed be her boyfriend and father of her son. Now which do you think is an accident? Everyone knows you do not point a gun at someone! Now there is a family without a daughter, a sister, and a mother. This man, if you can call him that, is serving a maximum of 20 years with 8 of those years suspended. So does this young lady deserve 12 years for an accident? Although I do feel for the victim’s family I believe that you must forgive people for you to start the healing process.

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harper

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October 13, 2005, 9:52 am PDT

Makes me sick

After seeing the show I'm shocked that the Brandy girl only got 12 years of prison. I agree with the boy's family that something more suitable would have been life without porole.

I don't buy the story that the boy was so distrught that he jumped in front of the car, but yet his body flew so far away. And that she was so "shocked" that she thought of "nothing" and yet was able to give herself an alibi by making the car look like vandalism.

Also, if the boy was so abusive why would Brandy's parents just let it slide and then only bring it up after the "accident"? I'm sure the abuse was cooked up by Brandy while she was sitting around in her jail cell.

I wonder if I can try that story and get away with a slap on the wrist. (And yes, 12 years for murder one is a slap on the wrist.) Hmm... "I'm sorry, Officer! I walked out of the store not paying for my grocries because I was so _shocked_ about the crime I just commited! Yes, I know I tried to cover it up, but you don't understand, I wasn't thinking!"

Right.

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br3nna

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October 13, 2005, 9:54 am PDT

oh by the way!

Quote From: joycec

To Brandi's family: I don't know of Brandi's guilt or innocence but the fact she tried to cover up what she did by placing the tree limb through the window of the car tells me she knew she had done something wrong. Her plea bargin didn't promise her a few months in jail. She took her chances and lost and now must live with the consequences of that decision. For you to continue to try and get her sentence reduced is driving all of you crazy. Brandi seems to be the only rational one in the entire family even though I think she (and all of you) are in denial about the seriousness of what she did. Come to grips with that and work to heal yourselves.

To Daniel's family: The bitterness you harbor will be the downfall of your family. Brandi is serving the time set up by the court and there's nothing you can do about it so why keep beating yourself up about it with your anger. Brandi and Daniel were both guilty for what happened that night and unfortunately Daniel and your family are the biggest losers. Daniel's mom is a real drama queen and the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree with the daughter.

To All of You: What's done is done. Stop your finger pointing and accusing the other one of being wrong and live with the circumstances of what happened because of your children's actions that unfortunate night - there's guilt on both sides from what they did. The denials in Brandi's family and the demands for revenge in Daniel's family is tearing all of you apart. The court's have spoken and it appears to me that justice has been served - whether you agree or not. And what, pray tell, does being a cheerleader have to do with any of it?

On behalf of my entire family, no drama queens here, just brandi's lying, nieve family!

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kimiden

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hopeful

October 13, 2005, 9:55 am PDT

My thoughts . . .

Clearly, this is a story that has people taking sides. There doesn't seem to be any "in between". People are either blaming Brandi or defending her.

I am very thankful that my family has not been subjected to such a horrible tragedy and I am no expert in this area, but it seems as though Daniel's family is focused on blaming Brandi. It seems like they are obsessed with placing blame on her.

But I think about things that have happened in this country and I think this is another example of what this nation has become. When something does not go the way we want it to, or think it should, we place blame. Someone must always be at fault when we don’t like what has happened.

Perhaps, it is easier for humans to place blame than it is to accept that sometimes, bad things just happen. Does finding someone to blame make us less vulnerable to the reality that we cannot control everything and that, unfortunately, bad things will happen?

We can find holes in Brandi’s story, because we are adults, and we are not thinking like a crying, emotional, seventeen-year-old teenager. Keep in mind, that this incident took place in a matter of seconds. We will never know exactly what happened, but I think it’s wrong to come to the conclusion that she is guilty based on what was aired on today’s show.

I do think it’s important to try to remember that Daniel and Brandi were teenagers when this happened. Teenagers do not think clearly, they aren’t supposed to. They are still learning and maturing. Looking back on my life, I can recall situations that I handled badly, made wrong choices and acted in an immature way and I thank God that it never resulted in the death of another human being. However, had any of the variables been different the outcome would have been different.

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kimiden

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hopeful

October 13, 2005, 10:04 am PDT

Legal advice

Quote From: aviano5

I am currently watching today's show and I am so angry. If Brandi was innocent, then why take a plea bargain? She agreed to the plea bargain so now she has to live with the choice she made. I feel for her family, but we all live with the choices we make...even the "accidents" we cause. We live in Italy and their law states that if you are at fault in an accident resulting in death due to negligence, you may be sentenced to 12 years in prison and large fines. Anything that empares your ability to react to your surroundings, is no different than drunk driving. For her to think that she would serve only 120 days for a HIT AND RUN was ludicrous. Her HIT AND RUN was no accident. That may be why her plea bargain was for VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER. Live and learn...

Brandi signed that plea agreement under the advice of her attorney. She was seventeen years old and she trusted her legal advisor. There are plenty of bad lawyers out there. Combine that fact with a complicated and somewhat flawed legal system and there will be outcomes that are less than fair.

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luckypink

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October 13, 2005, 10:04 am PDT

Brandi

Ok, Brandi is my best friend. She has been my best friend since the 6th grade. This was totally an accident. Daniel had told her he would kill her if she didn't go to his house that night. He is the one who jumped in front of the car. She has served her time, she has done everything she can do in jail, she got her G.E.D., and she has taken all of the classes they told her she had to take. Daniel's mother kicked him out when he was 13years old. She is a nut case. Brandi was a cheerleader and a straight A student. She was in a bad position. She was so in love with him and he treated her like crap! But you can't help who you fall in love with. She derves to come home. Please pray for her she has had a hard life trying to live with this accident and she needs her family and friends while she is in there she isn't getting any better just worse! I love you Brandi! Your best friend ~Summer~

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kimiden

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October 13, 2005, 10:08 am PDT

Just curious . . .

Quote From: n3oif1

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