Sundermann up for parole

A man serving a six year prison term since this past summer for driving while intoxicated and causing a vehicle accident –– killing a 3-year-old girl ––  in 2007 will have his first parole hearing this December.

Ryan Sundermann, who's currently serving his prison sentence in Cameron, has a parole hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3 at the facility.

Throughout the proceedings, he will have a chance to speak to a parole board that will be reviewing his case and other information to decide whether his prison sentence should be cut short.

Factors to be considered include: offense behavior, victim impact, criminal history, social history, institutional adjustment –– including program participation –– release plans and community attitude.

Brenda Neff, the mother of then 3-year-old Abrielle who was killed in the 2007 automobile accident, says she and other members of her family will be traveling to Cameron to plead that Sundermann not be released.

Although she knew before that he could get early release and not serve his full sentence in prison, Neff said she didn't expect a parole hearing this soon and was surprised when she received word about it.

"Basically, our justice system is messed up and needs to be changed,” Neff said. “We're told that people are rarely ever released during their first hearing, but if he was released just after six months, what has that really taught him?”

However, Neff and her family might not have to worry yet.

Dean Watson, chief public information officer for the Missouri Department of Corrections, said that, according to statutes, Sundermann and others who receive a six year sentence for a “violent crime” cannot be freed until after serving 33 percent, or roughly 2 years of their sentence.
Parole hearings are also scheduled for violent offenders  based on the prison sentence and months of completed incarceration.

For example, prisoners serving a two year prison sentence would receive a hearing after two months. A three year sentence would equate to a hearing after three months, and so on up to a six year sentence equating to a hearing after six months.

So what's the point of the hearing? Watson said the process of the parole board gathering information about Sundermann's case has to start sometime. During proceedings, he said parole board members might take that time to inform him about what he needs to accomplish for the board to consider an early release from prison.

However, even if it doesn't mean Sundermann going free this early to serve the rest of his sentence on parole, Neff said her family still has to travel to Cameron and relive the tragedy as they retell the events that led to Abrielle's death.

In June, Sundermann was found guilty on charges of involuntary manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and others that stem from a 2007 motor vehicle accident that resulted in the death of Abrielle.

Along with his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution to the Neff family.

Meanwhile, Neff is asking for letters of support from the community to keep Sundermann from being paroled.

In her letter to the editor, she said Sundermann would not see the letters, but the parole board could file them for consideration in his case.

Letters can be mailed to 16835 Icon Road, Pickering, MO 64476, or given to any family member.