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“Gay for the Stay” & “Trains Run on Her”: Inside Mackenzie’s Prison Dating Life

67m 22s

“Gay for the Stay” & “Trains Run on Her”: Inside Mackenzie’s Prison Dating Life

The Ohio Reformatory for Women is portrayed as a unique and surprisingly structured prison environment, offering programs, recreation, and a social culture resembling a college dorm. Inmates enjoy significant freedoms, including multiple yard time slots and access to education and personal development. This environment fosters social dynamics where inmates form relationships, often involving fashion, makeup, and visible social status—highlighted by the case of Mackenzie Sherbilla, a woman convicted of a fatal crash. Despite her severe criminal charges, Mackenzie appears to maintain a positive, glamorous, and self-assured presence in prison, supported by her mother who funds her lifestyle and promotes a future of freedom and success. Jail calls reveal her belief in an early release, excitement over media coverage, and discussions of future careers, modeling, and life outside prison. Former inmates report her popularity and active social life, including romantic relationships and intimate interactions. The trial was a bench trial, which may have been chosen to focus on legal technicalities rather than emotional narratives. The defense notably did not bring in medical experts to address potential trauma or amnesia, raising questions about the adequacy of the defense strategy. While the case has drawn widespread attention, including international media coverage, the narrative underscores the complex interplay between prison life, social behavior, media spotlight, and the perception of justice.

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Better being better boo. Some of the best advice you'll hear in life is sometimes the most simple advice. Don't go to prison. But apparently not all advices worth taking and sometimes, or like all the time, it's completely unavoidable at that point, but if you are to end up in a prison. The Ohio Reformatory for Women in Mary's the Ohio is probably one of the better options. One reporter who's been inside, she says it's more like a college campus. And instead of housing students, there's dorm rooms with women that are classified by their charges. You've got units. They call them cottages. They don't even call it units. Cottages for the four lifers. They're in there for life. You've got cottages for the people that are coming in and out. They've got a lot of programs in the Reformatory that I have honestly not seen being offered at other prisons or even at like your local community college. You can get your GED. Yes. But you can also take lessons on how to properly raise your child. You can help train service dogs. One former resident cat, she says, you actually have a lot of freedom in there. There's a track. You've got a volleyball court, a basketball court, a softball field. You've got a gym. You've got school, a place where you can go to use computers for job readiness. You've got cosmetology school. You've got college, GEDs. There's a lot of buildings and you kind of have free reign to kind of go and come as you please. If you're not doing that, you walk the track or you sit in the yard. There's like tables also where you can watch TV in your bunk. You're on the phone doing video visits. That's crazy. It sounds like a summer camp. And the Reformatory, they offer three different yard time slots in a singular day. So you've got the first, second and third yard. And this is a lot. Like most people, they'll maybe get yard time once a day. And that's if they're really lucky. They have three yard time slots. Really early in the morning, the second is in the middle of the day. Then there's one at the very end of the day. Interestingly, it's not even as bad as P class in high school because you can't opt out of that. You can technically opt out of yard time in the Reformatory. If it's too hot, if it's too cold or for whatever reason, you just don't want to be outside. You can opt to stay in your room. A lot of people will stay in their rooms because they don't like the weather outside. There's no point in going out because when you come back in, there's no AC in the building. So everybody's sweating, they say it does get really bad in the summers. Like you'll stick to your bed in the summertime, but you can buy fans in the commissary. But it's that hot. Now for some people though, it doesn't matter the weather. They're going out for yard time because yard time is game time. Residents remember there will always be a few girls out at yard time who've got full face of makeup on. They've got gems in their hair. Each gem is like $15 you have to buy it. They have curled hair. You can get a curling iron. They look like they're going to the club just walking around yard time. It's like walking around a day or drive. Just walk and walk in. Yard time is also, however, one of the few times throughout the day that inmates can be in the sun. So I get it, right? I mean, get fresh air. It's also hugely psychologically beneficial. Plus, yard time serves as the main flow of information between cottages. This is very likely the place where people start whispering about people they've met inside who just came into their cottage, or sometimes they're whispering about the show that they just saw, because there's TVs in the common areas. And there was this show that was playing on there. It's like one of those investigation discovery shows about a true crime case. And they said one episode was detailing how 17-year-old Mackenzie Sherbilla drove a car into a building at nearly 100 miles per hour, killing her boyfriend Dom and their friend Davion. You know, that case, who also happens to be their fellow inmate, the one that's walking around looking like she's going bar hopping with a full face of makeup at yard time every single day. That one killed two people. And now one former inmate says, you know, she's actually in the bathroom getting trains run on her. This is everything that has happened since Mackenzie Sherbilla was in prison. Inmates have come out to talk about her dating life, what she's been doing, and if she's showing any remorse. And this is going to be a full update on some of her released jail calls, as well as her new appeal. So with that being said, let's get started. We would like to thank today's sponsors who have made it possible for Rotten Mangle to support change the game for Dom Foundation and Davion Flanagan's Memorial Scholarship Fund. Both GoFundMe's are run by the families of the victims, and we're going to include those plus all the information regarding Dom and Davion's law, which aims to update Ohio's son of Sam Laws in order to prevent violent offenders from profiting off their crimes. It's going to be so pertinent in this episode. You're going to see why they want this to be introduced. All of these are going to be included in our show notes. Those of us those partnerships have also made it possible to support Rotten Mangle's team with dedicated researchers. We'd also like to thank your listeners for your continued support. As always, full show notes are available at RottenManglePodcast.com. Today's episode involves mentions of a listed drug usage, reckless driving, driving wall intoxicated, self-exit, and possible domestic violence and trafficking, as well as heavy discussions of being in prison, as well as things that could occur in various prisons throughout the country. We did pull the FOIA for this case, and we went through tens of thousands of pages of text messages, detective incident reports, autopsy reports. We also received like 90 jail phone calls that, I mean, it was like 20 hours collectively. There's just a lot going on, so we're going to try to break it down. This is actually part four of the five-part series. So in part one, we went over the crash itself, and generally what people believe happened that night. In part two, we break down the Netflix documentary, as well as we interviewed Rosie and Bubba, and asked them a lot of questions that social media had. In part three, we broke down the relationship, as well as covering internet rumors, conspiracy theories that people have about McKenzie's relationship with her parents, and whether or not people believe that it played a role in all of this. In this part, we're going to cover the jail calls, the alleged prison girlfriends, the trial, the appeal, and in part five, we're going to break down the entire 31,000-page document of text messages between McKenzie and Dom. So with that being said, let's get into it. I went down the rabbit hole of figuring out whether or not women's prisons really is similar to Oranges the New Black TV show, because that is what everyone kept saying. Is it similar? Some people on Reddit say it is, except the smell. Quote, "It was an odd combo of BO, hot dog grease, and really strong cleaning chemicals. Beyond the smell, the best way to describe it would be like living in a subway station in that everything has that grimy feeling of having been touched by thousands of people." And prison says, "It's kind of like that," plus lots of hucking up in the bathroom stalls and showers. I mean, something really weird was every few days they would pass around electric shavers. There was one for each bunk, and there would be a line of girls trying to use these old shavers to dry shave their legs and pubes in the bathroom. Some of them would flip them and use the non-cutting side as a pleasure object on other people. It was so fucking gross, I never even considered shaving. Another person on the internet says, "The food is the worst part, yeah." One inmate says that they were cleaning the meat grinder in the kitchen, because that was their job, and quote, "As they opened it, they found about a million maggots inside. Basically, it hadn't been cleaned a lot longer than people thought, and the whole prison had been eating maggot meat, so there's just lots of reports that there's actually a lot of intimacy going on in women's prisons. I'm not sure exactly the word to be used here, whether it be intimacy or not, but one netizen says that one of the very first things that they learned was how to make a prison rose toy that is stationary, so it doesn't pulsate, but it's a pleasure object. You get used toilet paper rolls, like the empty part, the little cardboard roll at the end. Seran wrap, napkins, and rubber bands, and you can make a pleasure object. They said it was oddly more intimate than they expected, with quote, "gay for the stay being a widely used term." Others know they say that it's not as dangerous per se as men's units, where the prison hierarchy is gang and race-based, whereas the women's units are, well, one netizen writes, "Ten of drama and sex." The drama in the men's unit is usually at a zero or a ten, nothing ever in the middle. The women's unit is a constant six, always. They say, quote, "the bitches just walked around, like they were in a high school dorm." Cat, the former resident of Ohio Reformatory, says, "Women's prison is like a popularity thing." So it really is being like in high school, you know? And McKenzie Shervilla was kind of popular in prison, because she had to be there for a long time. She is popular? Yeah. Cat says, "So people who are serving life sentences have an unspoken level of respect. People are just coming in and getting out. We're renting an Airbnb and they're the homeowners, like landlords, you know what I mean?" But even then, Cat says that Ohio Reformatory, at least when she was there, there were still people who stood out, like they just did so much. And McKenzie was that. McKenzie had this one best friend in prison, and Cat says the two of them would walk around the yard full glam. And Cat is like, "I am what I consider a girly girl. I love makeup. I love all that stuff." And that was in prison. I think I did my makeup like twice. And that was for my release photo ID. And then we had some sort of like festivals, some sort of sunflower festival came into prison. And I was like, "Okay, like we'll do it for then." But every single day? No, like that was the last thing on my mind. So they have regular makeup or? Yeah, I don't know. Okay. Another former resident, Cheyenne, says, "I would see girls do makeup just not to the extent that Kenzie took it. They'd maybe do a little eyeshadow, maybe a little lip liner or something like that. Kenzie was like full faith done, go into the club, like makeup, walking around. Every time she hit the yard, she's not coming out with her hair done. She woke up at six in the morning to get started, getting her hair ready, makeup ready and stuff like that. I remember she told me she always wanted me to meet her at first yard and it was like seven or eight in the morning is when the yards start. She's like, "Yeah, I'm gonna be up by six doing all of this." Cheyenne has since come out on TikTok to talk about all of this and she even posted a picture stating, "I'm gonna show you guys what she looks like most of the time." So this is what I mean by that. And she inserts a picture of McKenzie in prison. Like what kind of photo? A selfie. A selfie of McKenzie, she's really in prison. By herself? Yes. No, people are like, "Oh my god, did she stick a phone on her butt?" Like, did she pay a CEO, like a correctional officer, to get this phone? They have these tablets that they do video calls on and you can actually send pictures to your loved one. So you can take pictures like, "Yeah." Oh my god. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so Cheyenne is like, "I'm gonna show you what she looks like." And the picture for my audio listeners is a picture of McKenzie, one that has been widely circulating now and she's just posing with the camera. And I will say that she has more makeup on than I think I have on right now. So it's definitely, and that's not to be like, "Oh, I don't even wear makeup." No, I wear a lot of makeup. Like she's wearing a lot of makeup. It's definitely not just, "Let me throw on some eyebrows and curl my lashes and call it a day." This is the type of makeup that I would do if I'm going to like a birthday dinner. This is not just, "I gotta go to the grocery store and run some errands." Yeah. Kat says, "She walked around like she knew she was being seen. Like she knew she was getting attention. Like she was that girl. She would wear makeup like full, full face, full everything every single day." Cheyenne says, "Yeah, she also always had her hair done. Eyebrows like everything, wake up early as hell to do all this." And then she said that sometimes she would read and probably do some laundry. In prison or at least this prison, you can also buy exclusive clothing. You know, apparently a Nike hoodie could go for like three four hundred dollars because it's prison. They're not going to make it affordable. And Cheyenne says that Mackenzie had everything she wanted, a TV, gems for her hair, an exclusive pink shirt, painted on like shorts, like four to five pairs of shoes, jewelry, a flat iron, a curling iron for her, a waist trainer. Cheyenne says, "You pay $15 each for one of those gems in her hair." And in the picture that's Cheyenne, it's literally like when you're five years old and you throw a giant bedazzled gem, you can actually, like it's actually cute as an adult too, but it's just not worth $15 a piece. And she has a lot of those in her hair? In that picture, she has like four. That is so what? And these are things they sell in the prison? I think some of them you have to get from other cottages. Like for example, the waist trainer, Cheyenne is like, I don't know how she got the fucking waist trainer, but Cheyenne speculates that it's from the pregnancy cottage. So they have a cottage for all the pregnant women and they might give you waist trainers or you can maybe purchase them. And so she's thinking because it's from the pregnancy cottage, it's probably going to cost Mackenzie like $150 for a very basic waist trainer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so basically the parents are funding her spending, right? Yes. She's wearing all of that. And according to Cheyenne, Mackenzie is doing line dancing every night. She's going to go learn dancing every night. And she's just in one of the best cottages of the facility. Cheyenne says Mackenzie is in the Wheeler cottage. Wheeler has like flat screens. This is what Cheyenne is saying. Actual couches, rooms that you can close your door. So cat is like other cottages. It's just like bunks out in the open. Wheeler, it's like a dorm. You can close the door to your room. Yeah, yeah. But how does she end up there? Is it just by luck by chance? Usually it's for the for lifeers. Oh, okay. Yeah. Cat says the widely circulating comparison online about Mackenzie is pretty accurate. Cat says, I do say that she wanted to be like Regina George when I was in there. I mean, just the way she did our makeup, the way she, I mean, it was like she's going to a club or she thought she was going to be famous or photographed. She would wear her close altered so that they would be form fitting and she would make fun of people who had less than she did because she was so well taken care of inside of prison. Like she is taken care of mainly by her mom. Cat says Natalie Mackenzie's mom is making her like a, it's like a cupcake camp for her. It's like a summer camp for Mackenzie. Yeah, they said that Mackenzie would go behind people who are bigger in size than her and like mock them about their size by doing hand gestures like this behind them in the yard. But one of the more enlightening things to come out of all of this is stories of Mackenzie in prison that she has quote gone gay for this day and has been having trains run on her in the bathroom. That's the exact verbage that people have been using. I'm actually not even entirely sure what that means. I mean, I am to some degree familiar with what it means to have a train run on somebody, but I'm not sure in this context in the prison content. Cheyenne says there's just so much dating drama inside of a higher reformatory. She says girls always have a new girlfriend in there like every other day. Somebody was somebody's ex every day. It's just how it goes down in there. You don't have anything to do in there. So you just fill your time with anything. Honestly, which is kind of how Cheyenne starts dating Mackenzie. Okay, or at least that's what Cheyenne says. Now to fully understand this, let me break it down. According to internet rumors and former inmates who have come out to talk about knowing Mackenzie in prison, which, you know, side note many of them actually have been coming out before the Netflix documentary to share their story. So it doesn't seem like these people are just coming out now because the case has gone viral again and wanting to get TikTok famous. They've been talking about it for a while. Mackenzie. Yeah. So to break it down, according to Cheyenne, Mackenzie has this best best friend in prison named Jasmine. These are the two that walk the yard, gems in their hair, full makeup, her and Jasmine. Okay. Jasmine did a lot for Mackenzie apparently. Mackenzie was allegedly making Huch alcohol in prison and a CEO came in, found it, Jasmine took the fall because Mackenzie had an appeal coming up. So Jasmine wanted to take the fall for it. Anyway, Mackenzie is besties with Jasmine. Jasmine is dating another inmate by the name of Juice, who has also come out and has started making videos about this. So Jasmine and Juice are dating and juice is really close friends with Cheyenne. And near the end of Cheyenne's stay, Juice comes up turn and is like, Hey, Mackenzie thought you were cute since you first popped out. She already has like a little nickname for you. She calls you fro. So Cheyenne was like, when I was in prison, I had this huge fro because, you know, there's not like, you can't really get your hair done, right? And Cheyenne's like, I'm like, all right, bet. And she was like, well, Mackenzie said she wanted you to meet her on the next yard. So juice is like Cheyenne. Mackenzie thinks you're cute, wants to meet you at the yard. She's got a nickname for you. She calls you fro. Cheyenne said she never really felt inclined to talk to Mackenzie ever because she just gives off full Regina George vibes, just mean girl radiating off of her. But now she's intrigued. She's also, she admits bored out of her freaking mind, just like losing her mind going bonkers in there. Okay. So this is like the most exciting thing that could happen. She's like, I go outside, hit the yard. I see her in Jasmine immediately walking because they're always out there. You can always spot them. And I walked up to her to be like, Hey, what's up? And she's like, what's up? And I kid you not. The first thing she says to me is your top three on my hottest people on the farm list. I guess she calls it the farm. Apparently they hit it off. Okay. Cheyenne is asking Mackenzie if they want to grab dinner, which sounds like I mean, clearly it's rough in there. Like Cheyenne and cat have come out to say like, it does get rough in there. Like they're making it sound like a walk in the park, but it's really depressing. It's really rough. Like you lose sense of agency. I get it. But also like, it's not as rough as one might imagine. Like I watched prison break and like, do you want to grab dinner? Doesn't really resonate with prison break. Do you get what I'm saying? Do I think prisons need to be tougher? No, I'm actually for prison reform. You get, anyway, Mackenzie is looking at Cheyenne. Like she's crazy. She says, no, I don't eat the prison food. I will never eat the prison food. Cheyenne's like, I was like, oh, okay. She's like, I cook every single day. Every single day I cook. Mackenzie cooks? Yeah. Cheyenne says, yeah, exactly. Cheyenne's like thinking about it and she's going through it and she's like, that's actually a lot of money. Okay. So Cheyenne's breaking it down and she says, quote, because like, okay, you don't know things cheap in prison. But you have to buy every single thing to make a meal. So like, if you want to buy a pizza, like you want to make a pizza, you got to buy the wraps to make the crust because they don't have dough. You know, you got to buy like a, I don't know if it's like a wrap and then they just put some marinara. You got to get the pepperonis. You got to buy the pizza sauce. You got to buy the cheese. You got to buy something to shred your cheese. So cooking every single day with your commissary would be a lot because you only get a certain amount of commissary in there for like a certain period of time. So cooking every day you'd probably run out within like three to four days. So I'm like, oh, and then there's only like a few microwaves in there. So you have to cook all that in a microwave. Like, it's a lot. You have to get a microwave spot. So you got to wait in line for a spot at the microwave, which you know, is like 200 girls in one cottage. And there's only two microwaves. So you have to get a spot every single day. Go out there prepped for that spot. Be ready for your spot because if you run out of time using that microwave, you're out of the microwave. You can't finish your food. They're not going to say, oh, one more minute. I need a microwave for one more minute, you really have to be prepared for it. So it really is a lot. Anyway, the two of them start talking, flirting, okay? And when they would hang out, Cheyenne says she noticed a few things about Mackenzie that she's now sharing. One is that Mackenzie kind of seemed amused at the idea that some people call her Srila the killer. - So, okay, back to your intro. You're saying that everyone saw this documentary in the prison? - They saw an ID investigation discovery episode. - Oh, yeah. - So they say it's kind of interesting because when you first meet someone in prison, you ask them for their charges, right? And then they, like, and do I think this happens? Absolutely. I think the criminal justice system in America is completely forked. But everyone in prison is innocent, you know? Most of the time, right? Everyone is innocent. And so what happens, Cheyenne was explaining that you learn about someone's charges and then if you want to befriend them, you go and you call your mom and you're like, you gotta Google this person and see if their charges match up to what's happening, right? - So people know that people probably have a vague idea of Mackenzie Sharilla's crimes and they probably hear her side of the story of like, oh my God, it was pots, whatever she says. And then they see investigation discovery on the show and they're like, wait, what? - That's Sharilla the killer culture. - Yeah, mm-hmm, yeah. - Interesting. - And Mackenzie doesn't hate the nickname. Mackenzie apparently told Cheyenne, just like deadpan, not even offended. Yeah, people call me Sharilla the killer. Just like, what? And it seems like Mackenzie really, really believes she's going home sooner rather than later because Cheyenne says she told me how she was working on an appeal, she's going home. She's going to be home and how me and her, we're gonna talk when we get home, we're gonna continue this outside. - So she's getting life without parole with? - Cheyenne or Mackenzie? - Mackenzie. - 15 years, she's eligible for parole in 15 years, but most likely it's going to be highly, highly unlikely that she's gonna get parole in 15 years. - She's not. - Yeah, I don't think she's going to. - Okay, based on. - Based on like, typically if you're in 15 to life, it's really hard to get parole, especially for killing people. And then it seems from what I know and from what I've heard that Dom and Davey and family members are gonna be there at every single parole hearing and they will take that into account. Also on top of that, she has like 36 misconduct records in prison right now. And that also gets factored into parole. - 36. - Yeah. - Are you gonna talk about that? - Yeah, but most of it is like not being in her room, like being in the wrong rooms, wrong areas, right? 'Cause Cheyenne kind of insinuates that's what happens when you're dating people. And then also just having contraband and most of the contraband is like altered clothing shoes that she's not supposed to have. - Fascinating. - Wow. - Yeah. - 36 is pretty wild. - That's a lot. - She's been there for how many years? That's like one a month. - Yeah. (gentle music) - Cheyenne says in a TikTok. And then she was showing me her scars and she wanted me to touch them. And I kid you all not, no bull crap. When I touch them, a chill literally ran through my body. Like my hair stood up, back in my neck, arms, everything. It's just like, I don't know, something felt weird and off. So I kind of like pulled my hand back a little bit. And she's like, what? What's wrong? You don't think I'm pretty with all my scars? Is it nasty to you? Do I look disgusting? I'm like, no, it's just kind of like chilling and shocking seeing all of this. And then McKenzie looked me dead in the eye. Y'all dead in my eyes and said, thank God nothing happened to my face because I still wanna be a model when I get out of here. And another interesting fact with this is juice. Remember juice, Cheyenne's friend dating Jasmine? Juice sets in a TikTok. McKenzie's mom literally still goes out and buys everything and anything Kenzie would want so that when she gets out one day, she'll come home to a bunch of stuff that she wants. Yeah, apparently her mom goes out and buys stuff and puts it in her room. This is unbelievable. And this seems to be a very consistent thing people have been saying that McKenzie acts like she's getting out soon. Kat says, she walks around like she's gonna get out soon. She had no worries. I'm sorry, like if I had a life sentence, a girl I'm stressed, McKenzie? Nope, couldn't tell. Walked around with her head held high, would cut her little crop tops, would walk around with hikis on her neck because that's just what girls do. They get in there and go gay for the stay, whatever. She's living in a fantasy world, still striving to be that girl in prison that got her to be in the position in the first place. Like influencer, all that. But like baby girl, those days are gone. And so I told you, she walked around like she was getting out. She did not walk around remorseful. She walked around like she was still in the free world or still in high school. She was a main girl. You could see she looked down on other people, like laughed at other people. We'd talk about other people, which at the end of the day, no one really in there gave a fuck because we're looking at her, like you're laughing and looking down at people, but you're gonna be in here for the rest of your life and we're getting out and going home. Kat further alleges she did not care. She's currently getting trains run on her in prison right now, and that's just the cold hard facts. The girl that I saw didn't look sad, didn't look depressed, was very almost like I said, happy go lucky, just like bopping around, just happy. Didn't even seem like she realized she was sitting in prison. But she is sitting in prison. She is, which is exactly why we have so many jail calls. At the beginning of each call, it says in an automated tone, this call is not private. It will be recorded and maybe monitored. If you believe this should be a private call, please hang up and follow facility instructions to register this number as a private number to accept charges. And thank you for using Secures. You may start the conversation now. Also, you can't just like get private phone calls, typically that's reserved for attorney client privilege. So it's not like, oh, I just feel like this should be private. No, it's not going to be. There's a lot of normal conversations that you would expect from someone in jail. Mackenzie is telling her mom all the things she's been doing. She's been making oatmeal in her room. She says she's reading all the Harry Potter books and all she does is eat. There's not really much else to do. Her literary review of the first book in the Harry Potter series is, quote, good as fuck. She says, quote, and it's crazy because I remember being like, damn, these Harry Potter books big as fuck, who the fuck reads them. Now I'm reading them. That's crazy that they have these books to read. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and her hair is getting softer. She says it smells good now. She says the showers are so foul. And she had this moment. She said where she dropped the soap. She says to her mom, quote, I dropped the soap in the shower. And I was like, oh no, it's a one person shower. It's only one person, you know, but I still got scared. I was like, oh no, I dropped the soap. And I picked it up real quick and I looked around. And they're like giggling. They start talking about how people are so weird about being naked here in the US. But in Italy, it's fine, which makes Mackenzie announce to her mom that she wants to live in Italy. Yeah. And with the mom says, mom is like, yeah. And it's like when, I mean, I want to live in Italy. What do you mean? In another call, Mackenzie says she doesn't want to shower because, quote, because I'm cute and I'm little. And I don't want them to see me, which somehow segues to Natalie asking about Mackenzie's butt. And Mackenzie informs her, oh my god, they're going away. I don't know what's going away, but she does say, quote, but I have a pimple right on my bone, my butt bone. So just like lots of very casual conversations. In another call, she's talking about how long her hair is getting. She says, my hair is so long I could braid it if I want to. Natalie is just like, oh, you should braid it. This is Natalie's tone for everything. Oh, yeah, you should braid it. Oh, yeah, you should eat. Oh, that's good. Yeah, you should braid it. And Mackenzie's like, I'm not talking about my hair on my head. I'm talking about my legs and my koochi and my armpits, actually. But I mainly talk about my legs. And it's so weird. I mean, even if that is what's happening, I just can't imagine telling my mom that my hair down there is getting so long I could braid it. It's an odd conversation. In another call, she mentions how she's scared to shower, because yeah, this really is orange is the new black. I'm like the prettiest person here. I feel bad even saying that, but I'm just scared. There is a lot of moments, however, in these calls, where it just feels like Mackenzie and Natalie, and a lot of these conversations, most of them are with Natalie. It feels like they're out of touch with reality. And what the, they can't grasp with reality of their situation is. There's one moment where Mackenzie and her mom are talking about a friend of Mackenzie's. And Mackenzie says, oh my god, why would she go to jail again? What is wrong with her? She's bad as fuck, like bad ass little kid. Mackenzie says she needs me. She needs me as a friend. I'll keep her out of jail. And the mom is agreeing with her. She's like, yep, what is happening? This is a recorded phone call from jail. How can you keep her out of jail? You're on trial for murder. She says she wants to start a business when she gets out and says, I just hope my light isn't taken from me. She also talks about how someone in jail is allergic to lash glue, just like her. And she found this hack of using wig glue. And Mackenzie is like, when I get out and I go home and I do my own lashes, I'm going to use wig glue. She has a lot of hopes of getting out. She says to a friend, yeah, when I go home, I think I'm going to get a job, which is like, ooh, okay. Probably should. Yeah, when I'm home, I'll either be like a social media manager or I'm going to be like a life coach or I'm going to keep going to school to be a nutritionist and I want to help people eat healthy. Yeah, when I get out of here, I'm going back to eating healthy though. I don't know if Mackenzie knows much about eating healthy. In one phone call, her mom is making a smoothie with baby. spinach. And Mackenzie says, what is baby spinach? It's bad for you. Wait, what? Because it's baby. What the fuck is baby spinach? Natalie is like, it's like young, tiny spinach. Yes, it's genetically modified. But it's organic. Which side note, this is not true. Baby spinach is not genetically modified, but Mackenzie continues arguing. Organic doesn't always mean good though. Natalie's mom starts reading the package. And she, because you know, baby spinach often comes in like those plastic bags. And she's like, it says organic, it says non GMO. And Mackenzie's like, I don't believe that. That's a lie. In another phone call with her mom, she says, when I go home, this is my plan. So first, obviously staying with you guys as long as possible. Well, I'll see you with you guys. I'm going to start saving money. And I'm going to try and move out of Strong's fill. And I want to move somewhere with a lot of land. And I'm going to like move into a little house, but I'm going to make it real nice. It's going to be super cute. I don't want a big house. I want a little house that's nice on the inside. So I can have a lot of nice things, but I don't want a big ass house. She says, do you know what I kind of want to do when I go home? I want to do a DNA test. But then I don't want the government to have my DNA. Girl, the government has your freedom. I think you kind of have to eat the frog on this one. Like you've got bigger fish to fry. Your house is on fire and you're talking about saving the curtains. Nevertheless, she continues, I don't want the government to have my DNA because they can do whatever they want with it. And I don't want to be like on a list or some shit. I mean, they can have my fingerprints. I don't give a fuck how my fingerprints has nothing. I don't know. You are on a list. You're on a pretty detailed list of incarcerated individuals. Like I'm just so lost at the logic. The government seems very familiar with McKenzie. Even if we're just judging by the FOIA file, the government gave me extensive information about you. I think they know who you are. I think they know what you're doing. I think they know where you are, what you eat, what you read. They know to some degree what you're even talking about on the phone. And while I do agree, the government is not to be trusted with their increasing oversight on their citizens. You're literally incarcerated. I don't know why this logic annoys me so much. In one jail call, this is what McKenzie is on trial for murder. So like the trial is happening and she's having these phone calls. And McKenzie is giggling to her mom about a message that one of her friends sent because so McKenzie's trial was not live streamed. It was a bench trial. It lasted about approximately eight days. And there were parts of it that were recorded, but it was not like fully live streamed from start to finish. And she's reading the message. And she says, I'm dead as fuck. Kendra said also, bro, your ass has gotten so big. Elimeo. I watched it on live stream. And when you walked in, I was like, damn, Jay said the same thing about you and you look really good. Natalie is like, everybody's saying you got a bump in little booty now. Everybody. Oh my god. Later in McKenzie tells a friend on the phone, I do work out and my butt got fat as fuck. I don't even know how to. I can't even tell you. Everyone always tell me my butt fat as fuck and my butt was cute and little before, but now it's fat and cute. In another conversation, Natalie mentions, there's going to be a podcast about this case tonight on somebody's, you know, thing. Kenzie, it's insane. McKenzie is like, what do you mean? It's going to be on what? Somebody is going to be talking about it on their podcast. Everybody's just looking for their five minutes of fame. How many likes can they get? You know, Natalie says, I think, you know, why this is so popular is because it's a mystery. Oh, but it's not, but you know what I mean? Natalie keeps encouraging McKenzie, write your book. Start writing your book. You start writing your book, okay? In that same exact conversation, McKenzie asks her mom, how do you spell eventually? And her mom stops halfway. She's like, and then she's like, hold on, I got to type it out. Maybe neither of them should ever write books. Maybe they should read a book first, but it appears, if not books, maybe modeling. McKenzie says, I have this feeling that something's going to happen with all these people reaching out. So she's getting a lot of weird guys reaching out and producers reaching out producers probably trying to get her for a documentary. And then guys probably lying saying they're producers just to get in contact with her. But there are a lot of people who reach out to inmates that they deem pretty creepy guys. But she is like, this must mean something. And she's like, remember that one guy who got arrested for murder? And you know, he became like a model. Yeah, because he was just like, everyone was 11 is munch on. So she thinks something's going to happen. And Natalie is like, yeah, and these men, you know, these people are paying money to talk to you because you have to buy stamps to send letters. And McKenzie says, as they should. What is happening? Yeah. Yeah, but Natalie, yeah, no, I was losing my mind. There were so many times he was like, are you okay, babe? The mom and the McKenzie both are kicking over. Yes, like what is happening? Hypothetical imaginary scenarios that will never happen. And they're kicking over it. And it's like giving the context of what's going on. This is not real. I feel like even if they were not, if she was not on trial for murder. And she's sitting at home saying like, I just have a good feeling. I'm going to be a model. As a mother, you would still be like, you have to be careful. There's a lot of scams out there. And like, maybe you should have a backup plan because, you know, the chances of becoming a model are very slim. And then for the mom to say, no, these men are paying money to talk to you. What? Yeah. That's not really like the best thing in the world either. Yeah. Yeah. But Natalie keeps encouraging McKenzie to write her book because quote, you start writing your book. Nobody can twist or use things. Your feelings, you know, that you say in a weird way to fit their growth narrative kind of thing. I'm serious. I'm very serious. This is going to be a good one. In another call, McKenzie is renting. Yeah, that shit is just irritating as fuck. They're acting like I killed 85 people. I didn't kill nobody. And while all this is happening, Natalie encourages her, save the world. She says to McKenzie, while you're there, go to school, right? Do what you got to do. And you know, maybe you should go into freaking law school and fix the system because what the fuck is this? McKenzie says, I don't want to do math and stuff like that, though. I don't know if that's what's involved with. I would, but I don't know if I want to take the time to do it because it's like a lot of work. Yeah, but you have time, right? And you are an amazing arguer. You know what I mean? Because you know, you're based on facts and you tell people what it is and you don't stop people need that. Think of how you defend people that have been wronged, Kenzie. They need you. But one particular jail call that has been going viral is if Natalie telling McKenzie, it's on the today's show. Girl, I'm telling you, they're about to get ready for the biggest plot twist of the century, right? What? What do they say about me? No, no, it's not on the TV. It's just online and they're just reposing a story, but that's okay. That's okay, right? That's all right. Plot twist, right? That's okay. Write your book. You hear what I'm saying? What plot twist? That she is not guilty or whatever, right? Oh, yeah. And so she's like, so wait, it's all over the world now. The today's show is like national news. McKenzie is like getting hyped. Okay. I got to tell you one more thing. What? It was published in England. What? Yes. It's world news. I think the daily mail just publishes it like in all their publications, but yeah, the UK. Which is all is so excited right now. Yeah. Like so excited. Yeah. McKenzie's case is international news. Yeah. And she's so excited. They're giggling. They're like, wow. Yeah. But we are famous. Yeah. And McKenzie's like, it's on the daily mail in UK. McKenzie's like, maybe Kim Kardashian will reach out herself. That's what I'm saying. I'm hoping, you know, I'm hoping we're getting there. So I was going to do this anyway. So this is great. And they can just reach out to us. Crazyness, baby girl. McKenzie then relays this information to a friend. Okay. She's relaying the good news. My mom is like, well, maybe Kim Kardashian seen it. And I'm like, I hope. And the friend is like, yeah, maybe Kim will now that it's all over. I mean, like, I mean, that's the only thing that might be good about the whole media thing. Maybe Kim will see it. So this is an undata jail call. But I have an inkling. It feels like it could be around the Netflix time because they do talk about this being in the news during the trial and very early on in this case. And McKenzie was very stressed. She didn't like it being on the news. And then with Natalie even saying, like, this is what I was going to do anyway. And maybe Kim Kardashian will reach out. It seems like with Netflix, their whole intention was like, we're going to get some sort of appeal. We're going to get people riled up for injustice. Like, I think that's how they saw it themselves. I don't know for sure, but that's the feeling that I get. And so maybe they think the news, the attention is great because now people will finally see the injustice. And oh my gosh, the crime of putting her in jail prison. Yeah. And so the friend says, I mean, that's the only thing that might be good about the whole media thing. So it doesn't, it doesn't sound like it was around the same time frame as the trial when they are talking about these media calls and they don't like it. So that's, but I don't know. It's on data, right? But McKenzie, yes. Why are they so excited that Kim's going to see it? Because Kim likes to fight for people who were wrongly convicted. Like she'll fight for people who are on death row that you're saying that Kim is going to repost this and say free McKenzie. Yeah. And it will start a little movement. And there will be like a change.org. And then maybe she will get out, right? And McKenzie's like, I don't know, I have to figure it out because I'm real nervous. And I want Kim Kardashian to be my lawyer. She's a lawyer. Kim Kardashian baby bar, which I don't think is true at all. I don't think she passed the baby bar yet. She has been trying to pass the baby bar. The baby bar is notoriously hard to pass, right? But she's a lawyer. Also, I don't-- - She didn't pass. - I don't think she did, yeah. I know she's failed a few times, which is not like shading or shaming someone 'cause the baby bar is that hard. - Yeah. - Right, but she also has like a completely other career that she's very busy with. So I don't know, right? But she, I don't think she's a lawyer yet. - Yeah. - She gets innocent people out of jail. - Who's saying this? - Mackenzie. And I do wanna clarify, I do think that Kim Kardashian advocating for people who are on death row that are innocent of their crimes is probably one of the best things that she's ever done. So this is not me saying like, oh, she's not a lawyer yet. Like it's actually very difficult to pass the baby bar. But I'm just saying factually, I don't think it's correct. Anyway, the friend is like, yeah, she does all the time. Kim works hard. Like, yes, Ms. Kimberly. Like, we're gonna have to get you out. And like, tell her, Mackenzie is saying, and like, tell her, I will buy all her skins. And I only wear skins. - Better being better, boo. - You have to throw a dinner party and your life depends on this dinner party, okay? I tell you, if nobody shows up to your dinner party, you are screwed. And you can either invite group A or a group B. Group A consists of 12 people, 12 strangers. You don't know them. But just one person has to show up to your dinner party. That's it, okay? Do you invite group A with 12 people or group B? Group B consists of just one person. So you got one shot. Versus group A, you have 12 shots. The question almost sounds dumb because it is, and I just be making up questions. But it's very obvious, you choose group A. You invite the 12 strangers and hope that at least just one of them shows up. Now, what if I said I started a rumor? I went in there and I told group A, the group with 12 strangers, that you never wash your hands before prepping dinner. They start talking to each other before the dinner party. They start phone calling each other. Did you know they don't wash their hands before dinner, like before prepping anything? Then group B, that singular person, they are professional food tasters. They know they're not the health department, and I don't really start this rumor. I say, whatever if they wash their hands or not, that's not where you're basing this, your conclusion off of if you show up or not. Okay, it's weird, but like what about the next scenario? You invite group A, but all you can give them is the coordinates to your house. Not a home address, the coordinates. I mean, you still have 12 chances that one person's gonna show up, right? One person is going to go through the hassle of decoding the coordinates. Some might plug them in wrong, but at least like maybe one will show up, you don't know. But then I tell you group B, you know, that one person is a coordinate expert. It's as easy as them to show up to the coordinates as if you wrote the house address with the house number and the street name. They know how to read it easily. Who do you invite? This is like a very over complicated way of describing jury and bench trials, okay? A bench trial being instead of the jury deciding your fate, it's one judge. And there's really only two reasons that people will choose that and it's like the examples that I just gave. So especially in criminal cases, they like a jury trial. The mentality is you have to flip one. That's why there's lawyers who specialize in Vaudier, just picking a jury. They come in just for picking the jury and then they leave, they're not trial lawyers. - Yeah, you just have to flip one. - Just one, that's it. And you gotta flip them hard. You can't just flip them and say like, oh, now I have a little bit of doubt. Like they have to be able to stand there and say, no, like I have enough reasonable doubt. But you have technically 12 chances at reasonable doubt. Versus with the judge, you have one shot. And a judge is a professional hero of excuses. They have heard every excuse and every argument in the book, it makes sense to opt for the jury. But from my very limited research, it seems like there's two reasons why people would opt for a bench trial if they have the option. So the first option is a very rare situation of science. This case is overly technical. There's extensive data. The whole narrative is database. There's no emotionally compelling narrative. All the facts, the arguments are rooted in complex scientific data. It would be worth considering. Now, this is also like a double edged sword. Sometimes the confusing data you wanna go for a jury trial. - Confuse them? - Yeah, confuse them and make them believe it's reasonable doubt, but it's not. It's just they don't understand the data because we're all lay people. We're not specializing in this. But if your innocence is in the data, maybe you do opt for a judge because they're technically above average in the Smarty Pants Department. They may be able to decipher the truth in the science a bit better than 12 jurors who don't have much experience in it. So science, right? The second common reason is the defense is not a factual argument. So like the science is like the coordinates. But the second one is more like the washing the hands argument. The defense is not a factual argument or an emotional argument or a compelling narrative argument. The argument the defense is making is legal. So for example, a man is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. Everyone agrees he has a criminal history, that's fact. He has this object in his backpack that looks like a gun and it is a gun. But the gun's firing mechanism was permanently removed years ago and the statute in this jurisdiction defines firearm as something capable of expelling a projectile. So the defense is sure he had it, sure he's a felon, sure it is, but it's not a firearm by the letter of the law. It's not a firearm. A judge may be more inclined to see this legal argument versus a jury might argue, does it really matter? It's a gun shaped object. He had it in his possession. He couldn't have been wanting to do anything good with that. Basically a case of I'm not arguing about what happened, I'm arguing about what the law means. Or another reason is like the facts are just revolting and maybe the defendant is also revolting but the law is on their side, so a hypothetical could be. And this is from Reddit, like someone says, I'll give you a completely hypothetical as an example, right? Let's pretend you represent someone who is found with a hundred terabytes of CCAM. And you realize there is an argument that under the case law, the person didn't actually disseminate or create any of it. And you've got yourself in this weird gray area situation. You're probably gonna have a better chance convincing a judge to find in that manner. If a jury gets a hold of it, they're gonna convict you as soon as the state proves your client was in possession. That's it. The facts are revolting, but maybe the law is on your side. The legal case is maybe a little weak on the prosecutors. A judge can hold a line for beyond a reasonable doubt where a judge would be so disgusted. Beyond a reasonable doubt line would be overridden by their disgust. They're like, I don't care about the law, he had it. Like, that's all that matters to me. Fascinating, okay. Mackenzie Shurella chooses to have a bench trial where one single judge will decide her fate. It has been argued that maybe she chose a bench trial because the defense was going to argue that the black box data from the car is not enough to judge whether or not Mackenzie had intent. And that maybe it was going to be rooted in the data. Because that's the intent part they could argue. Whereas maybe jurors would see the black box data. It's not like emotionally compelling. They would rather see the text messages Instagram posts in what she did after as more evidence. Another argument could be made that the facts are revolting. Her messages with Dom, her behavior before and after the crash, her smoking and driving posts, it's revolting. But maybe the defense believed it still does not prove intent legally. So maybe it's a legal argument of like, yes, she's kind of like not a good person. But like legally is this intent? However, I do think it should be noted. I think the outcome of the trial was the right outcome. Not that my opinion matters, but I tend to agree with the verdict. I also think the choice on Mackenzie's part to have a bench trial was kind of odd. I don't know if that was the best choice. I've listened also to a ton of lawyers be puzzled at the choice. But it really doesn't matter. Just because you choose the wrong choice doesn't mean there's injustice done to you. Nor does it mean the outcome should be different. It's just more so like, what did you do that? [MUSIC PLAYING] It's very interesting when you consider the fact that the defense did not bring in a medical expert to testify about pots and the potential that Mackenzie suffered a pot's related episode. They only brought in her mom to testify to the judge, which a defendant's mother's assertions are probably held very low on the scale of credibility. But it's interesting that they didn't bring in a medical expert. It makes you wonder whether A, it was such a bad defense, B, there's no medical expert that would be willing to testify in the way that the defense would consider helpful. And they would get eviscerated in the cross-examination by the prosecutors. Or C, the defense knew the judge would see through some medical expert bullshit testimony that it's just going to be dumb. The judge is going to get peeved, and it's not going to make any sense. And it's just going to cost a ton of money. Or maybe all of the above. Also, I do think it's interesting that they didn't bring in an expert because we're still talking about it to this day because they left it open to interpret. They left it open as like a possibility. Now, had they brought in a medical expert and they got eviscerated during cross-examination, that would be completely ruled out. So instead of ruling it out, they've left it open. But then there's this whole argument where people are like, well, did McKenzie not get a fair trial? Because she, her defense attorney was so incompetent, they didn't even bring in a medical expert. So it's kind of, you know. It's an argument that goes in circles. McKenzie states that she doesn't remember anything after the crash. And I mean, they don't bring in a pot's expert, but they also don't bring in an amnesia expert of any sort. Because people are skeptical that McKenzie conveniently does not remember anything in the pivotal moments before the crash. A lot of people who have been in car accidents anecdotally say that that is a fact, like is in fact something that does happen to them, but not bringing in an amnesia expert who can testify to that is a very interesting choice. unless the defiance. thinks that whatever the expert will testify to, the judge isn't going to buy it, one former resident in the reformatory is asked whether or not they saw McKenzie show any signs of pots and jail and she says, "Not once. She seems like a very healthy young girl." I mean, she was constantly in the yard. There were even times where we were in the middle of the heat wave and she was laying out with baby oil, tanning, and a hundred-degree weather. She was very active, always walking. I never saw her get blood pressure checks, routine emergency, like I never saw her go to take any sort of medication. She seemed healthy to me, yeah. And we went through like 31,000 pages of text messages between McKenzie and Dom and it seems like most of her very strong health concerns came from. It does appear that she had a strong ED and she lost her period at some point and like there's a lot of conversation where Dom is encouraging her to eat and like trying to get her to eat. So I think that they don't really ever talk about pots, ever. But like maybe they chose the bench trial because they were going to argue the legal technicality that yes this happened, the crash was clearly done by McKenzie but legally it's not intent because she was passed out or for whatever reason. If the bench trial was chosen for the fact that the black box information is so technical that a layperson would not be able to decipher it, which I don't necessarily agree with that. But if that were the case, it still confuses me that defense didn't provide compelling arguments on how that's the case. I think even Karen Reed's black box data was more hotly debated than this case. I'm just a bit confused on the purpose of the bench trial or was it chosen because they just thought McKenzie is just so unlikable that only a judge could put aside her actions before and after the crash and rules solely on what she's charged with. I have no clue. One reddit or theorizes if the prosecution is able to even get a few of those social media posts of hers admitted, then as a lawyer, I would push for a bench trial. She came across horribly and whether instructed to do so or not, I could absolutely see jurors seeing her relentless self-adulation, performative indifference, rules don't apply to me. I get what I want attitude and say to themselves, yeah, that seems like the type of girl who would and could do what she did or what the prosecutors say she did. Like another viral case is Michelle Carter. Do you guys remember her? She encouraged her boyfriend to self exit through text messages. She famously opted for a bench trial because her behavior, oh, she was found guilty. She's found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but her behavior was so deplorable, like those text messages are going to be admitted. She's not a likable person by a long shot and the defense argued all these legal technicalities of like, okay, yeah, she did do those things, but technically it's not manslaughter. They argued she wasn't even there. They argued there was no bodily harm inflicted by her, also whatever happened to free speech, like they're arguing all these legal stuff, but it's like you're a gross person. So they thought the jury would never see past you're a gross person. But I guess the judge didn't either. And also in that case, I agree with the verdict. I actually think it should have been stronger, but the shoes found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Obviously, these are not even remotely similar cases, but it just does make you wonder that maybe yeah, jurors would have found both of these girls not very redeemable and sure in hindsight, it might be easy to say, oh, well, maybe Mackenzie was dumb for choosing a bench trial, but who knows, all I know is Mackenzie does seem to piss off a lot of people. And during the trial, it's very clear Mackenzie and her family know that all her jail calls are being monitored, and typically this is the most sensitive time is during the trial. In preparation for the trial, and during the trial, the prosecutors are listening to every little thing that's going on, but Mackenzie still voices her frustration against the prosecution to her mom. She says on a recorded jail line, and that girl prosecutor would be so pretty if she wasn't such a bitch. She is a bitch. I hate her. The man, the boy prosecutor, I'm like, man, do you have another suit or what? Because you wear the same suit every fucking day, you dirty as fuck. I know that suits stank with that roll in your neck, like his bald dumb ass. I hate him. He's ugly as fuck. I'm like, why are you doing this right now? For someone who is on trial for murder, Mackenzie is quite opinionated about how people look. She also ran about the detective that testified. I was trying to look at him like, what is he? He's not white. He's so ugly. It almost seems like Natalie is trying to soften the statement. Well, he's definitely ugly on the inside, but Mackenzie brings it up in another conversation. He's not white. What is he? He's ugly as fuck. He built weird as fuck. I'm like, why you think at the bottom and small at the top? He's slim thick for a man, and it just throws me off. Again, like, in the middle of the trial. Keep in mind, Natalie and Steve, this entire time, have been screaming from the hill tops that Mackenzie has not a bully, that she just has a fierce personality. But then there's moments on these jail calls where Mackenzie will be talking to her mom and she gets distracted by a new inmate that's coming in and she says, oh my god, another girl just got moved in our pod. She looks slow as fuck. Natalie is like, boom, she may just be distraught because they're new. They just got into prison. No, she look and then she says the R word. She's meaner than a white cat. I always find it interesting when people who have zero sympathy for others expect full sympathy for themselves from every single person around them. She's talking about how she doesn't want to go to court, aka to her own murder trial. She's like, if one of Davion and Dom's friends, do you guys remember age? I talked about age. He was one of the first students to kind of start his own little investigation and yes, he did come up with some conspiratorial thoughts about what happened and even the police pointed out some of it was a little off, but he was very passionate about trying to get justice. You have to have some level of respect for that, but he also should, he's the one that responded to Mackenzie on social media when she posted about Dom and then he was like, what about Davion? Mackenzie says, I don't want to go to the courtroom if age is in the courtroom. I don't feel safe with him anywhere near me. I feel like he's going to attack me. Natalie is like, I don't know if there's anything you can do about that. Well, I'm going to refuse to go in the courtroom then. Honey, you can't. Just don't even look over there. And then he's like hugging Miss Rousseau. She's probably the one that told him to come harass me at the grave and follow me that day. There is zero proof of that, by the way. And it's just kind of weird. You're the one on trial for killing two people. I don't know if there are that many people that are scarier than you in the town of Strongesville. And I do get that there is some nuance to who is in the room during a murder trial. The defendant usually wants to have family and friends to show up, to show the jury or the judge in this case that they have support, that not everybody has turned on them. So it must mean that there is a shot at redemption, right? Mackenzie asks Natalie if Rosie and Bubba can come to the courtroom, which Natalie responds. Kenzie, I'm not talking about anything on the phone. I already told you, I already told you if they can or can't and why. Try to get as many people to come to my court as possible. So the people that can, can, some people have to work and if they can't get out of work, they can't come. Mackenzie is upset that Rosie has not shown up to court a single time to support her. And her mom Natalie has to explain to her over the course of one to many jail calls that quote, Rosie cannot show up to court because she's on the defense witness list. And if the defense were to ever call her, they cannot because she's been there for other parts of the trial. And if there is a sequestion order in place, which there most likely is judging based off the jail calls, right, then Rosie can't come to court, which I don't remember. Rosie was like, I was willing to testify, but I was never called. I think that applied both ways. I'm assuming the prosecution never called her because she's on the defense witness list. And most likely it would not help the prosecutor's case like she would just be such a risky witness that would provide probably no value to the prosecutors, but it is interesting that it was phrased as more so like, Oh, if the prosecutor's called me out to come, right? But there is a little bit more to the story. Anyway, the whole thing just does not feel right to Mackenzie. She's not having it good old Mackenzie sharp as a marble. She still doesn't like that Rosie hasn't shown up to court. And on top of that, there's this developing issue where Rosie is friends with people who don't like Mackenzie. And this is like really bothering Mackenzie. I deduced this from the fact that Mackenzie brings it up across multiple different jail calls with her mom when they could be talking about literally anything else. One call starts off normally with Mackenzie talking about how she couldn't sleep well the night before because quote, somebody's fucking arguing loud as fuck at 4 a.m. And I couldn't go back to sleep, but then I got anxiety because I forgot to tell you. So Rosie's hanging out with like Natalie interrupts her. No, I know. No, that's all fixed. I told her not to say anything because it's not confirmed and it's 100% not true. She unfriended them and everything. I don't believe that. I do. Because how are you going to post that shit about me? So she's saying that Rosie is hanging out with this girl named Sammy. And Sammy has been posting negatively about Mackenzie online. And Mackenzie is upset that Rosie is hanging out with someone like Sammy. How is she knowing all of this? Because another friend will call her and tattle. The other friend that I believe is the other one in the documentary. She is too involved over what? And I also think it's weird that Natalie is so involved. Natalie is like, how do you know she's with Sammy every day? Because every time I would call Rosie when I would be at free phone call day, she would be with Sammy. And if Sammy's going to post that weird ass shit about me and Rosie's cool with her, I'm not going to be cool with her. So Natalie is like, I'm going to reach out to Faith and Faith is going to look into it. Now Faith is the other one in the Netflix documentary and like has been-- That's support. Yeah. Mackenzie. Yeah. And so Natalie is like, Faith's checking into what that was. I don't think they're together anymore, like I don't think they're hanging out anymore. Well Faith told me that they hang out every single day and I believe Faith because I want to be told stuff like that. She doesn't know that though. I don't know if she knows that or not. She talked to Rosie last night, so let's just wait to see what she says. But that's weird as fuck. What the fuck? Right. How come I don't have this issue with any of the other people who just like support me? I don't know if it's an issue though, sweetie. It's clearly an issue. I mean, she clearly took down all the pictures of me off her Instagram with her and that's weird as fuck. And then she won't put free Kenzie and shit, like that's weird. And now she's hanging out with someone who wants to be like, yup, when they find me guilty of murder. Like that's just-- Just wait till you talk to Faith. And I will literally block Rosie's contact on here. I don't know why, I just get weird as vibes from her. I know, and that's because she means a lot to you. What? She means a lot to you. No, that's not. Faith and Jada and Kendra mean a lot to me too, and I don't get those vibes from them, so that's not why, that's definitely not why. Mackenzie gets a little upset at her mom saying, "But why don't you tell me is the crazy thing? I don't like that." How would I know? Natalie tells her that she just needs to talk to Faith first before talking to Rosie and not spread unnecessary anxiety or whatever, unless she's sure about it. But Mackenzie is still ranting about Sammy saying, "So weird, imagine posting my face and shit just for clout and shit." Mackenzie's simplicity is available. Later in the call, Mackenzie brings it up again, asking, "So what did Rosie say to you about this shit?" Kenzie, she loves you to death, and don't forget she was on your witness list. I'm aware that doesn't mean anything. No, she loves you. I think she feels like she got weird vibes. I said that to her before, and she was like, "No, no, please tell her I love her so much, and the summer's unbearable without her. I think about her every day." But that's all she says every single time. Like, that is so weird to me. I'm just weirded out. I just feel like, why did you delete everything off Instagram about me? Then ask her, Ken, why are you hanging out with people that are weird or spuck? Ask her, ask her, just be like, I heard you were hanging out with people that are glad I'm in here, is that true? I don't even wanna call her though and waste my time. Don't accuse her, don't accuse her, ask her. I'm accusing the fuck out of her, I don't give a fuck. I've already told you, my people wouldn't lie. That's not true though, talk to Faith first and see what the conversation was, and then ask her. I don't know, I'm just weirded out by her. But nobody likes being accused of things they didn't do, right? If you can't post my face and be like, free her, if you can't post and be like, free Kenzie, she's fucking innocent. Like, this is crazy shit, like, what the fuck? That's weird. She was there, she did all that. She did not post-free me. And if my friend was in fucking jail, I'd post them every fucking day being like, free them. Okay, but she did post on your birthday, remember? I didn't see anybody else do that except for Rosie and Nina. Like, you know, so just pause and ask her, are you hanging out with Sammy? I heard she's glad I'm in here, are you still hanging out with her? Don't accuse, ask. And she posted on your birthday. There's just weird shit coming on, I don't know. Just keep being strong, keep the faith, and you have to trust in your friends, okay? It appears they figure out what the problem is, but Kenzie is still confused why Rosie never shows up to court to support her to which again, Natalie reminds her, because we didn't know she was gonna be a witness, remember? We didn't know, so she couldn't have been there. You can't sit in there if you're a witness. In another call, Natalie reassures Kenzie about Rosie, and Natalie says that she went through all of Rosie's pages, which is just like weird behavior for her mom, and saw that she's not following Sammy. What are you doing? Tell your child to get a grip. Why are you stalking college kids on Instagram to see who they're following? But it appears this family is just super committed to their faults and limitations, because Natalie continues to reassure Kenzie that she saw that Rosie is not following Sammy. But Kenzie is like, but see, that makes me nervous because what if she's lying? She's like, Sammy, I have to unfollow you for a little bit, but I'm about to tell you. She would never, Kenzie, you gotta trust. She would never. She's been there for you from the beginning, posting your birthday, showing up for you everywhere you gotta trust. You gotta let that go. That's so weird to me though. Okay, this whole thing is so weird to me for a multitude of reasons. Why does Kenzie care so much? Just stop talking to Rosie then. It's not like you have to talk to her. It's not like you guys go to the same school you're in prison. In fact, it takes more energy and money to talk to her on these collected call lines. Also, Natalie, why are you getting involved? Why are you not telling your daughter, get a grip. Get a grip. Why are you so adamant that your daughter should be nice to Rosie? That's also weird. Why can't you just tell her, okay, then just don't be friends with her, damn. Why does she have to see from Rosie's side? Why does she have to trust Rosie? Like, all of this is weird. That's not to say that I'm on anyone's side of the argument. I just think this whole thing is dumb and I'm confused why everyone keeps going. There's another call where Natalie tells almost cryptically, tells Mackenzie. She should never doubt Baba or Rosie and Mackenzie wants to know why. She's like, what are they doing? I can't really get into it on the phone, but they're amazing. A hundred percent amazing, you should never have doubt in your mind about that one. Especially Rosie. Baba, you should never have doubt in your mind about their, um, that's crazy. Where was this? We don't know. It seems like it was during the trial or soon after. But down in her mind, Mackenzie has, it might be the only thing up there, okay, in a later phone call, Mackenzie brings it up again and she says, I'm going to have people watching her. And if as soon as she hangs out with her, she's getting fucking blocked on everything and you need to take her out of the group chat. Why is it happening right now? And Natalie's like, agree. Like Natalie has a group chat with Mackenzie's friends. She's like running a mafia in there or something. Yes. I'm going to have people watching this person. I'm going to take you out and I'm going to, they will know. Like, what is happening right now? I don't even think El Chapo gives a fuck like this. What is happening? I mean, he probably does, but yeah. Natalie continues, you've got to trust. And there's nobody on her Instagram page. It's just her modeling pictures. Nobody's on there, not even Nina. But it used to be all of us. I just think it's weird. I don't know. I don't like how she just deleted our pictures and she also deleted that YouTube video again. There's nothing anywhere though. You can't read into these things. You have to ask a question, ask, don't accuse. She deleted the YouTube video. I don't need to ask. And I want you to change my Instagram bio. To what? Is they ain't hating you doing something wrong? The fuck, that's what you need to change it to. And then do #freakKenzie. OK. Don't forget, do it right now, because I don't want you to, like, make it some stupid shit on accident. The quote in its entirety is stupid, but OK. Did they change it? Always, her Instagram account, right? OK. And another call, Mackenzie tells her mom to put long live Dom and long live Davion in my bio, too, which I just feel like is a slap in the face to the victim's families. And there's just a lot of concern that she has of whether or not people support her. Mackenzie rants again to Natalie that she has a few friends that have yet to reach out to her and jail. And Natalie is reassuring her that those friends are just quote, weak, you know? She's just weak, and she doesn't have a real good, secure sense of who she is. She's just a follower. I feel like there's more pressing matters to tend to, but I mean, like, what could be more urgent, I guess? Like, the more pressing matters could include how the Sherylas believe the judge presiding over Mackenzie's face is corrupt. That's what they keep saying. And that is where I leave you with the first half of part four. Stay tuned for the second half, because we're going to go through the rest of the trial. And then you remember-- oh, you don't even know. But there will be times where, OK, the victim's family members are giving victim impact statements during the trial. They have jail phone calls right after that court day. And they're saying some crazy things about the victim's family. Stay safe. Let me know your thoughts, and I'll see you in the next half. Bye.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. The Ohio Reformatory for Women is described as more like a college campus than a traditional prison, with programs such as GEDs, cosmetology, job training, and service dog training.
  2. Inmates have significant freedom, including three daily yard time slots, access to recreation (track, volleyball, gym), and shared spaces where conversations and social dynamics occur.
  3. Women’s prisons feature high levels of social interaction, fashion, and "popularity" culture—similar to high school drama—where inmates form relationships, engage in dating, and display makeup and fashion as acts of self-expression.
  4. Former inmates report that Mackenzie Sherbilla, a woman serving a life sentence for a fatal crash, is highly visible and popular in prison, often wearing full makeup, gems, and stylish clothing.
  5. There are allegations of intimate relationships and "train runs" (a term for consensual acts in prison) involving Mackenzie, with former inmates confirming she has a social circle and is emotionally and financially supported by her mother.
  6. Mackenzie’s mother actively funds her prison lifestyle, purchases clothes, and encourages her to maintain a normal life post-incarceration, including dreams of modeling and moving to Italy.
  7. Jail calls reveal Mackenzie’s belief that she will be released soon, her lack of remorse, and her focus on appearance, fashion, and future plans despite her crimes.
  8. The case gained media attention, including international coverage, and sparked discussions about justice, media influence, and the role of public perception in criminal trials.
  9. The trial was a bench trial (one judge), chosen possibly due to technical legal arguments about intent and data, rather than emotional or narrative evidence.
  10. The defense did not bring in medical experts to address potential medical conditions like PTSD or amnesia, raising questions about the fairness and thoroughness of the defense strategy.

Summary:

The Ohio Reformatory for Women is portrayed as a unique and surprisingly structured prison environment, offering programs, recreation, and a social culture resembling a college dorm. Inmates enjoy significant freedoms, including multiple yard time slots and access to education and personal development. This environment fosters social dynamics where inmates form relationships, often involving fashion, makeup, and visible social status—highlighted by the case of Mackenzie Sherbilla, a woman convicted of a fatal crash.

Despite her severe criminal charges, Mackenzie appears to maintain a positive, glamorous, and self-assured presence in prison, supported by her mother who funds her lifestyle and promotes a future of freedom and success. Jail calls reveal her belief in an early release, excitement over media coverage, and discussions of future careers, modeling, and life outside prison. Former inmates report her popularity and active social life, including romantic relationships and intimate interactions.

The trial was a bench trial, which may have been chosen to focus on legal technicalities rather than emotional narratives. The defense notably did not bring in medical experts to address potential trauma or amnesia, raising questions about the adequacy of the defense strategy. While the case has drawn widespread attention, including international media coverage, the narrative underscores the complex interplay between prison life, social behavior, media spotlight, and the perception of justice.

FAQs

It offers a more campus-like environment with programs such as GED classes, cosmetology, and service dog training. Inmates have significant freedom, including three daily yard time slots, access to computers for job readiness, and recreational facilities like a gym, basketball court, and volleyball court.

Yes, inmates can opt out of yard time if it's too hot or too cold, or if they simply don't want to be outside. However, many choose to stay in their rooms due to the extreme heat, especially in summer.

Inmates can take GED classes, attend cosmetology school, participate in service dog training, and access job readiness programs. There are also college-level courses and computer labs for career development.

Inmates often form friendships and romantic relationships, with some engaging in public displays of makeup and fashion during yard time. Social dynamics are described as being similar to high school, with popularity and fashion playing a large role.

It refers to the social and romantic relationships that develop among inmates, often involving flirtation, dating, or bonding. The term reflects the informal, social nature of interactions in women's prison environments.

She opted for a bench trial, where one judge decides her fate instead of a jury. This choice may have been made due to the technical nature of the evidence, such as black box data, or because the defense focused on legal arguments about intent rather than emotional narratives.

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