Topic : 03/16 Cheerleader Scandal

My heart goes out to Daniel's family.  Our family lost a child and her Dad due to the incompetent driving decisions of another 17 year old teenage girl.  My niece and her Dad were on his motorcycle on a Sunday afternoon, just a few miles from their home.  They were killed by a 17 year old girl without a valid driver's license who turned left in front of them and hit them with her mother's car. 

Her punishment for two counts of juvenile vehicular homicide?  driver's license suspension, community service, probation, and had to give 4 talks to teenagers about what she did. 

Her talks were how her life was changed and she did not feel ike going to dance class anymore! 

She never apologized - neither did her family.  Never did my sister hear an apology. 

Teenages do not always make the right choices.  But - neither do their parents.   

My sister lost her family - there are no other children.  She lost her highschool sweetheart and their "angelbaby" who was only 14 years old. 

These two "show" families will never be the same.  Unless they want to find peace within themselves, they will always be angry.   Anger only eats at you and hurts you more everyday.  Is this how you want to keep your son's memory alive?  Is that the way he lived?  Did he live angry? 

He may have been a controlling boyfriend - he might have hurt Brandi - you don't know what he did 24/7.  You don't know all of the facts.  You don't know if she feared for her life.  No one knows except Brandi.  And she will have to live with what she did for the rest of her life. 

She may have a legal right to a new trial.  Her lawyer sounded somewhat incompetent. 

She was 17 years old - why were her parents not included in the decisions regarding a plea bargain?  Where were they when this was being discussed?  Why was she tried in an adult court? 

In Ohio - if a juvenile does not have a police record, they cannot be tried in adult court.   

Why was this girl tried in the adult court?  Who made the decisions with her and the lawyer? 

Too many questions for a one hour show. 

I hope both of these families find some peace. 

I propose that Brandi take a lie detector test to prove that Daniels death was an accident and not done in a fit of rage. I unerstand that lie detector tests are not admissable in court but if she passes then that should do two things: 1. Give closure to both families 2. Make it possible for her to get out of prision on parole or give her the basis for an appeal.  If she fails the test. then she should serve the rest of her sentence 

Ok .. wow.. that was really sad. I'm only 16 and i just feel horrible for both the families, but i do think i know it doesnt matter some 16 year old girl oppinion on this but i just wanted to say that i think that  brany isnt guilty and i was quite confused about her lawyer changing her plea she signed shouldnt he be getting in trouble for that :S  I also , well i just feel so terrible for what both familes are going throuh, both have lost  someone who was in there life daily and thats a hard change. I dont deal with death well at all so i know how upsetting it can be to lose someone you love.  but i also know that holding grudges and being angry and saying you wont ever forgive them is not fun to live with. I was angry for two years at my mother( to whom im very close to now ) and said i would never forgive her for leaving my family. but i did and it was the best thing i can to.. Dr. Phil was right when he said it wasnt for the family with the daughter that he wanted the family who lost the son to forgive ... its for them to move on with their lives and not carry that burden into every relationship and everything else in their future. you cant live being angry it only keeps hurting you and lets the person you are angry at control your life. i know that becuase there was ppl who i thought i hated and i just went on being a miserable little girl  but im passed it now and im trying to hard to to even ay the word hate, because its not the person you hate its the behaviours they choose and how they act that you hate, i beleive everyone is a good person just that some ppl choose not to be that person. I realy truely think that the family who lost the son needs to try and help them selves find a way to move on and learn to be happy. Im not saying to forget them just to make sure that you are running your own life not letting anyone else control how you feel on a day to day basis. .. well .. that was a blur of all the thoughts that are running through my head... sry for the jumbling .. and sorry if i have offended anyone in any way.. if thats possible to offend in that .  

JAMC 

Crystal- You and your family had time and you made the choice NOT to 'tell YOUR truth'.  While watching the show, there were inconsistencies with the story you did tell.  It made it difficult to glean out the 'truth' as seen through your eyes.  Your rage overshadowed your 'truth'.  Composure would have shown a clearer light on the 'truth' as told by you.  If you were not able to hear what was being discussed, how are you so certain what the emotion of the conversation was.  You were not a party to the conversation and you do not even have hearsay since you said you could not hear the conversation.  This remains a confusing situation which is evident by the amount of postings.  The only thing that is constant is your rage. 

I truly believe that this was a horrific accident. I can say this because I'm also a 17 year old high school student. I've been in situations very similar as this. I can honestly say I know what she was going through. My boyfriend is also one year older than I am, we both love each other very much. There are times that he just loses it, and he also says things very similar as Daniel would say. He’s told me that I CANT leave him. It’s no longer my choice or decision. He would rather kill himself than be without me. I think that Brandi should be free. If me and my boyfriend ever got to that point, I wouldn’t know what to do either. It’s basically like choosing from two of the most important things in your life, two of the things that you love most. It’s either your family or your boyfriend and that’s too hard to choose but when you think of all the abuse you’ve been through with your boyfriend, you think twice. Maybe it’s best to protect your family. I’m not trying to say that killing your boyfriend is the right thing to do. And in Brandi’s case, I honestly don’t believe that she did it intentionally. This was sincerely a horrific accident, but when you are in that kind of situation, you don’t really know what to do, you aren’t really thinking straight. The only thing your thinking of is the fact that you know that the guy is hurting you, and that’s not even acceptable. But you’ll take it. Although there is no way in hell you’re going to let him hurt the other people that are most important to you. 

It's pretty evident that there are distinct differences in the social standings of the opposing parties. Perhaps the parents of the deceased figured that (abusive) son would somehow elevate their social status if the kids had eventually married. I question  why the father of the deceased didn't have anything to say.