Messages By: doggirl

I do not know how the law reads in the state where Brandi lives. I can only say what would have happened to her in Court here with the circumstances she, herself, described. She took her parents vehicle without their permission. This was verified by her parents. This, in itself, was a felony. She struck the boy with that vehicle and left the scene of the accident without checking to see what she hit and not offering assistance to an injuried party. This was another felony. According to our law, commission of a felony (or felonies) that result in the death of another person is murder. When she struck him, she threw his body 58 feet. She had to be driving at least 60 miles and hour. I may be mistaken, but I heard hear a reasonable explanation of why she turned around and drove back. She is fortunate that she got a plea bargain for manslaughter. Had she not set all of this in motion by taking her parents vehicle, Daniel would be alive and Brandi would not be in jail. Concluding, if her parents don't get some help for her brother and start insisting that he straighten up and do right, they are only going to experience more heartache as he will probably end up on drugs or in prison.

I have worked in the legal system for 35 years and this kid caught a big break. I have NEVER seen a plea agreement that the judge did not ask if the agreement was voluntary on the part of the defendant. The judge then questions the defendant on the facts of the case as presented in the agreement. If the defendant disagrees or states they have any doubts about what they have agreed to, a judge will not accept the agreement. It is almost impossible to later ask for a new trial or appeal a plea agreement because the defendant has stipulated the facts. This young lady's best hope to get out of prison before the twelve years are up is receiving a parole. I believe she or her parents mentioned she had already had a parole hearing. Since she is still in prison, I assume that parole was denied. In order to secure a parole, she is going to have to accept responsibility for what she did. In other words, drop the abuse claims and stop blaming anyone else or any other circumstance. Her statements to the parole board must be along the line of "I took my parents car, I was enraged, and while I did not mean to hit him with my car, I did and I am responsible for his death." She then must talk about remorse. Her remorse, thus far, seems to be that she is sorry to be in jail, she is sorry for what she has put her family through. The parole board is going to be looking for remorse for the victim and his family. I will end by saying that her family needs to help her realize her responsibility of her actions and stop blaming others for her situation. This will get her home sooner than any other action they could take.