I have always considered myself a person to listen and get the full story before forming a opinion. I must admit when I first posted on here as well as after watching the show my thought was...Brandi is innocent let her go home. I also must admit to you Stephanie that at first you really irritated me, and I thought you were looking at everything one sided. However, I have been paying close attention to this message board and paying a lot of attention to what has been said by both sides, or the lack there of.
I am a Christian. I do believe in the power of forgiveness and have to deal with giving forgiveness for a death in my family. I also have two children that I embed the theory of taking responsibility for their lives and their actions into. One thing I tell my children is if you don't take responsibility for your life you will be an irresponsible person. I have told them no one likes and irresponsible person.
FACT!!!!! Brandi is guilty of hitting Daniel and taking his life. That can not be debated away no matter how much anyone tries. She has admitted to hitting him herself. Brandi has to learn a lesson from this and take responsibility for that action. The best thing her parents can do instead of placing blame everywhere else is to speak to Brandi and have her admit to herself and them that she did kill Daniel. She does not have to say she did it on purpose, but at least take a first step and admit that yes she did kill him. Whether it was an accident or not is really a mute point at this venture, but Brandi and her parents need to admit that she killed him, period.
I believe prison may not be the best place for her, but if not then she definately needs a lot of in house counseling as well as her parents and brother need counseling too.
As parents we have a responsibility to make sure our children take responsibility for their actions. So far with Brandi that has not been done. As long as she continues to defend herself and not take responsibility she is going to have this huge weight on her shoulders and not be able to deal with all her emotions, and other things that are happening to her...Hence the suicide attempts.
The forgiveness for both of these families is something that is going to take time. I know it has been 5 years, but with Brandi not admitting any wrong doing it is stopping the process.
I also believe that part of Sheilas anger may be due to her not spending time with Daniel when she could have. So there is probably anger there for more than just the death of her child. Guilt is a terrible thing to carry with you.
I am continuing to keep both of these families in my prayers. Stephanie, you are a very strong woman of good character. Your patience and diligence in handling all these questions is something you should be very proud of yourself for. Take care.......Sue
(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.
