COLUMBUS, Ohio, United States: The Ohio Supreme Court declined Mackenzie Shirilla’s request to reconsider her appeal. She was 17 years old at the time of the crash and is currently 22 years old. The court voted 5-2.
According to Court TV, Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals rejected Sharmila’s earlier post-conviction appeal. Her attorneys filed it one day after the 365-day jurisdictional deadline.
Her appellate attorney, John Martin, asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider. He argued that Ohio courts calculate the deadline differently and that the inconsistency raises equal-protection concerns.
Martin said Shirilla’s team calculated the deadline from the juvenile bindover hearing transcript. They did not use the trial transcript date.
Attorneys ordered both transcripts together, but the transcripts arrived separately, according to the filing described by Court TV.
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Prosecutors opposed reconsideration. They said Shirilla presented no new material issue and argued that lawmakers, not courts, should change filing rules.
Shirilla was 17 when she drove at speeds of about 100 mph. She then crashed into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio. Her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and passenger Davion Flanagan, 19, died.
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A jury later convicted her of murder, felonious assault, aggravated vehicular homicide and other offences. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo imposed two concurrent life sentences. Shirilla must serve at least 15 years before becoming eligible for parole.
