When will Mackenzie Shirilla be released? Latest on her 2026 Ohio Supreme Court appeal

A dispute over filing deadlines and a leap-year calculation has now become central to Mackenzie Shirilla's efforts to overturn her conviction.

Mackenzie Shirilla's lawyers requested that the Ohio Supreme Court reopen an appeal that had previously been denied due to a disagreement over the filing date. Prosecutors said the Eighth District Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County denied a prior petition due to a calendar error.

A dispute over filing deadlines and a leap-year calculation has now become central to Mackenzie Shirilla's efforts to overturn her conviction. (Mackenzie Shirilla Facebook)

Shirilla was convicted in 2023 of murdering her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend Davion Flanagan. Prosecutors asserted that in July 2022, she purposefully crashed a car into a structure in Strongsville, Ohio, at about 100 mph.

She was given two consecutive life sentences with parole eligibility after 15 years on each conviction; in other words, she would typically not be eligible for parole until she had completed 30 years in prison.

What do we know about the Ohio Supreme Court appeal?

Prosecutors assert that because 2024 is a leap year, the convicted murderer's legal team "miscalendered" the date for her petition, according to Entertainment Weekly. The document examined by the outlet states that a post-conviction challenge was overlooked by one day because 2024 had one more calendar day than 2023.

“Defendant-Appellant Mackenzie Shirilla miscalendared the date that her petition for postconviction relief was due. The trial transcripts were filed in her direct appeal on October 23, 2023, triggering the 365-day statutory clock to file the petition,” the memorandum stated.

A post-conviction relief petition is a formal request to the court to overturn or amend a conviction or sentence. It is often made following the completion of the direct appeals procedure.

Thus, Shirilla's attorneys are asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider her post-conviction relief petition. Shirilla's lawyers contended that the denial of her petition was the "result of ambiguity in the postconviction relief statute." The letter says, "The ambiguity centers around the meaning of the term 'trial transcript' which is used to measure the time by which a postconviction relief petition must be filed."

However, prosecutors maintain that Shirilla's petition was filed on the day (October 24, 2024 )her exhibits were notarized and hence, untimely considering 2024 was leap year. They have since asked that the “Court decline to exercise jurisdiction over this appeal.”

The Ohio Supreme Court has not yet made a decision regarding Shirilla's petition.

When could Mackenzie Shirilla be released?

The short answer is that the release date remains ambiguous given the ongoing appeal.

If the state's highest court agrees to hear the case and ultimately overturns the conviction, Shirilla could receive a new trial or a different legal outcome.

However, under her current sentence, Shirilla would generally need to serve decades before becoming eligible for parole. Shirilla will be eligible for parole in 2037.

She is presently incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Shirilla remarked, "It's really hard every day in here," in reference to incarceration in her documentary The Crash, available to stream on Netflix.