TAMPA, Fla. — An appeals court has decided to uphold Cameron Herrin's 24-year prison sentence for the 2018 deaths of a mother and her daughter in a street-racing crash on Bayshore Boulevard.
A document from the 2nd District Court of Appeal shows a three-judge panel affirmed the court's original decision on May 20.
In April 2021, a judge ruled Herrin was guilty on two counts of vehicular homicide and sentenced him to nine years in Florida state prison for the first count and 15 years for the second count.
At the time, State Attorney Andrew Warren said the decision would bring some closure to the family of 24-year-old Jessica Reisinger and her 21-month-old daughter, Lillia, who she was pushing in a stroller when she was hit by Herrin's Ford Mustang.
Shortly after, Herrin appealed the lengthy sentence. According to a Tampa Bay Times report, the appeal noted the stark difference between Herrin's sentence and that of the other teen involved in the racing crash, John Barrineau, who received six years in state prison through a plea deal.
News of the sentencing reached far beyond the Tampa Bay area when a barrage of online comments calling for "#JusticeForCameronHerrin" began popping up on social media in July.
The campaign seemed to stem from a TikTok with clips of Herrin at his trial. The video got more than 23 million views, with hundreds of thousands of users calling Herrin's 24-year sentence unjustified.
Experts found, however, that thousands of these social media accounts were likely bots created to amplify the message of those in support of Herrin.