A woman at the center of controversy after her murder conviction was highlighted in a Netflix documentary has asked another court to grant her a new trial.
Mackenzie Shirilla, 21, filed a writ of habeas corpus petition on July 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio asking for her convictions to be overturned and be granted a new trial.
A habeas corpus petition alleges the government is holding someone in custody unjustly and in violation of their Constitutional rights. Habeas petitions rarely succeed for criminal convictions that do not involve the death penalty.
Shirilla is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years after being convicted of murder, aggravated vehicular homicide
and other charges connected to a July 2022 crash. Shirilla's boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their mutual friend, Davion Flanagan, died in the crash.
In the petition, Shirilla laid out eight reasons she believes her constitutional rights were violated during her first trial and initial appeal efforts.
Shirilla makes some of the same arguments the appeals court already rejected, including that there was not enough evidence to prove she committed murder or enough evidence for her to face trial as an adult.
Shirilla introduces several new arguments, though, including that the attorney for her first appeal was ineffective and failed to raise issues that should have been brought to the higher court. Additionally, Shirilla's attorneys missing a 365-day deadline to file a request for post-conviction relief constituted ineffective assistance.
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a request by Shirilla to reconsider that application despite the request being made one day past the deadline.
Shirilla has also filed a delayed request on July 27 to reopen her first appeal of her conviction. The Eighth District Court of Appeals rejected Shirilla's initial appeal efforts.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mackenzie Shirilla asks federal court to throw out murder conviction
