I Was In Prison With Mackenzie Shirilla: The Real Story Behind Netflix's The Crash | Miss Understood #378
6/2/202655 min
After Netflix's The Crash reignited national attention around Mackenzie Shirilla, Rachel Uchitel sits down with former inmate Kat Crowder, who spent time incarcerated with her in Ohio prison.
Kat shares what Mackenzie was really like behind bars, why she says the woman featured in the documentary didn't match the person she observed in prison, and what inmates thought about one of the most talked-about true crime cases in recent years. She also discusses Mackenzie's prison reputation, disciplinary reports, relationships behind bars, and the reaction inmates had to seeing the documentary while incarcerated.
But this conversation becomes much more than a story about Mackenzie. Kat opens up about her own troubled past, her father's suicide, addiction, multiple arrests, a high-speed police chase that landed her in prison, and the daughter she believes ultimately saved her life. It's a powerful story about accountability, redemption, second chances, and rebuilding after prison.
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Executive Producer: George Carmona
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRachel Uchitel· Host0:00
One of the most talked-about documentaries on Netflix right now is called The Crash. If you haven't seen it, let me catch you up. What began as a horrific car accident became one of the most controversial murder cases in recent memory. In 2022, a 17-year-old, Mackenzie Shirilla, drove a car into a brick building at nearly 100 miles per hour, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davian Flanagan. Prosecutors called it murder. Mackenzie said she blacked out. A judge ultimately convicted her, and today she remains behind bars. The documentary has reignited a debate that's divided the internet. Was this a calculated act of violence, a tragic accident, a crime of passion, or something far more complicated? Everybody seems to have an opinion, but today we're talking to somebody who had a front row seat to a part of this story that the cameras didn't capture.
Kat Crowder· Guest0:50
When I was in there with her, she walked around there like she was getting out the next day.
Rachel Uchitel· Host0:55
Her name is Cat Crowder. Cat was incarcerated in this very same prison as Mackenzie.
Kat Crowder· Guest1:00
When I first saw her, my first impression was, like, "What is this girl doing here?" You know? She does not look like many of the other inmates. She's very young. She has a full face of makeup on.
Rachel Uchitel· Host1:13
But what makes Cat's story fascinating isn't just what she has to say about Mackenzie. It's what happened when she decided to tell her own story, because Cat did something most former inmates never do. She stepped into the light. She had publicly acknowledged her past.
Kat Crowder· Guest1:27
I get in the driver's seat,