DUI Testimonies

Felony DUI Offender’s Testimony Right Before Entering Prison and A Heartfelt Response Written By His Wife And His 13 Year Old StepDaughter

Emotional Father — North Charleston, SC — Donna Jarrell Ministries

Editorial Letter by Brandy Hoover Ackiss (Robbie’s Wife)

Editorial Letter — North Charleston, SC — Donna Jarrell Ministries

Tammy Ackiss, Mother of a Drunk Driver (Robbie)

To the Members of the South Carolina House Criminal Laws Subcommittee,

My name is Tammy Ackiss, and I am the mother of a drunk driver.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my heart and perspective regarding Felony DUI Reform. I also want to commend you on the introduction of the S.052 DUI Reform Bill. It is long overdue.


In October of 2020, our family’s lives were forever changed. Our son Robbie made the decision to drink and drive and was involved in a horrible accident that took an innocent life. This was not an intentional act. He did not get into his car planning to cause harm. Alcohol impaired his judgment and altered his ability to think clearly. He did not realize he was too intoxicated to drive.



There was absolutely no violent intent behind what happened. Robbie is not a violent man.

When we received the call about the accident, we were completely devastated—beyond consolable—for the life that was lost. We could not even speak about it for weeks. Our son is the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back to help someone in need. That is why what happened was so difficult for us to comprehend.

Robbie is a son, a brother, an uncle, a husband, and a father. He loves his family deeply—especially his wife, Brandy, and his daughters, Kaylee, Kelsey, and Keira. He has earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in sales, marketing, and finance, and he managed a logistics firm for a Canadian company. He is intelligent, hardworking, and a devoted provider and father.

This unintentional and tragic accident has forever changed him and our entire family. Robbie will tell you that he accepts where he is because of the life that was lost. He will also tell you that not a single day goes by that he does not think about the Manapat family and the pain he has caused them. This is something he will carry for the rest of his life.

Robbie has no pattern of criminal behavior. He had never even received a speeding ticket prior to this incident. When he completes his sentence and returns home, I have no doubt that he will never walk back through those prison gates again.

I know others who have been arrested for DUI or public intoxication, and the first thing they say is, “I made a horrible mistake.” That is exactly what this was—a horrible mistake.

I respectfully ask this committee to consider reclassifying felony DUI as a nonviolent offense. Doing so would allow individuals like my son the opportunity to earn parole, work credits, and good behavior credits. These incentives provide hope and encourage rehabilitation, giving individuals a real chance to return to society as productive citizens.

I also urge you to consider expanding access to treatment for those struggling with substance abuse. There are effective programs available. For example, Dr. Monnie Singleton specializes in addiction treatment and uses a medication called Suboxone, which helps control cravings in the brain. This closely monitored, one-year program has helped many individuals achieve and maintain sobriety. I personally know people who have completed this program and remained clean and sober.

We must work together to give these men and women every opportunity to receive the help they need—to break free from addiction, to rebuild their lives, and to make better choices moving forward.

Thank you again for your time, your consideration, and for allowing me to be my son’s voice.

Sincerely,

Tammy Ackiss

Casie's Heartfelt Plea

(SC Felony DUI Offender)

Print Casie's Letter

My name is Casie Cunnigham #362287. I am incarcerated in Camille Griffin Graham C.I., serving a twenty-three-year sentence for felony DUI resulting in death. Those simple words cannot begin to reveal the depth of pain involved. So many lives have been altered by a choice I can't remember making, the victim's family, my family, and my sweet, beautiful daughters who are still struggling to cope with not having their mom in their daily lives. I struggled with alcoholism as a single mom, drinking while my children slept. As a preschool teacher working with my family in our own childcare centers, I was able to manage long stretches of sobriety at times through measures I took in recovery, rehab, meetings, and my relationship with the Lord. Until the horrible day on February 10, 2014, when I lost my constant battle, I waged inside myself by choosing to drink and causing a wreck that claimed the life of an innocent bystander. My addiction has claimed more than I ever imagined it would.


I remember choosing to drink, but I have no memory of choosing to drive and honestly can't believe I allowed that. There has never been any intention to hurt anyone in my life, but it made no difference to my judge on the day of my sentencing. I pled guilty, but the D.A. chose not to offer me a plea deal, instead choosing to get the maximum penalty allowed (25 years). The judge gave me two years shy of that. It is a severe sentence. I wasn't shown the same mercy that others have been shown charged with this crime, the average being ten to fifteen years.


My sentence is even more severe than others charged with crimes that have intention involved, and unfortunately, that is not uncommon to those of us punished under felony DUI classifications. We have no possibility of parole, our work credits, although earned, will not be calculated, and we receive no benefit for good behavior.



We are not criminals. Most of us do our time productively, with the thought to give back to the community from whom we took so much. All we are asking to obtain is a second chance. We aren't asking to get out of our sentences or the consequences of our choices.


I do not resent the fact that I must do time. As a citizen, I would expect it. I would just like to be heard, to be understood, and to be given a chance to make amends, to make a difference. I am praying for also the effort to reclassify this crime to something that more closely resembles the compassion I know exists in our world.


Thank you,

Casie Cunnigham

#362287

Laurie McDermott, Mother of a Drunk Driver (Riley)

There is no greater loss than a loss of life and no penalty, no matter how severe can compensate for that loss. Our family supports all measures to prevent DUI.

Let me give you some background on how I became interested in this issue. In November of 2014, my son, Riley McDermott, who was 24 at the time, was the cause of a tragic, fatal DUI accident. At the time he was working at his first job after graduating from Anderson University with a Kinesiology degree, as an assistant baseball coach at the university. He had never been in any trouble but made an immature decision to drive after drinking that changed his and many others lives forever.

Since that life changing l day I have learned more about DUI sentencing laws than I ever wanted to know. I learned that:

  • DUI with fatality is considered violent, and therefore is not parole eligible.
  • That there is nothing a convicted person can do to earn a reduction in their sentence. (Riley has taught GED since his incarceration at 3 different facilities.)Work credits cannot be used towards early release for felony DUI.
  • Good behavior means nothing in terms of sentence reduction. (Riley has had no incidents in the 10 years of his incarceration.)
  • Sentencing reform is never given much attention. (Every year of his incarceration there have been different bills introduced that never gets to committee for consideration.)
  • Statistics show that DUI offenders are not problematic inmates and show no violent behavior.
  • South Carolina sentencing laws are far more severe than other states yet the incidents of DUI fatalities are some of the highest in the nation.

I can’t tell you how many people, including senators and representatives, have asked me when my son will be eligible for parole. The answer is NEVER. South Carolina considers DUI a violent crime, despite the lack of malice or intent.

One of our victims said to me – “the circumstances could easily have been reversed. My son could have been driving and your son could have been the victim.”

As a state that holds its Christian values in such high regard, where are the Christian values of forgiveness and second chances? We are not asking for all offenders to be guaranteed early release, only for the opportunity to earn parole.  

Please consider allowing these non-violent offenders to be eligible for parole. Locking them up for prolonged sentences with no chance to earn parole serves no one. Not the victim, not the families on either side, certainly not the state and not society to which they will someday return to.

I fear that sometimes you disregard these pleas as just a Mom’s wish to have her son home. You may think this could never happen to you or your family. That’s what I used to think.

“There but for the grace of God go I.”

Thank you in advance for your consideration and for the opportunity to express my position.

Laurie McDermott          14701 SW 21 Street       Ft. Lauderdale Florida 33325      954-629-7854

There is no greater loss than a loss of life and no penalty, no matter how severe can compensate for that loss. Our family supports all measures to prevent DUI.

Let me give you some background on how I became interested in this issue. In November of 2014, my son, Riley McDermott, who was 24 at the time, was the cause of a tragic, fatal DUI accident. At the time he was working at his first job after graduating from Anderson University with a Kinesiology degree, as an assistant baseball coach at the university. He had never been in any trouble but made an immature decision to drive after drinking that changed his and many others lives forever.

Since that life changing l day I have learned more about DUI sentencing laws than I ever wanted to know. I learned that:

  • DUI with fatality is considered violent, and therefore is not parole eligible.
  • That there is nothing a convicted person can do to earn a reduction in their sentence. (Riley has taught GED since his incarceration at 3 different facilities.)Work credits cannot be used towards early release for felony DUI.
  • Good behavior means nothing in terms of sentence reduction. (Riley has had no incidents in the 10 years of his incarceration.)
  • Sentencing reform is never given much attention. (Every year of his incarceration there have been different bills introduced that never gets to committee for consideration.)
  • Statistics show that DUI offenders are not problematic inmates and show no violent behavior.
  • South Carolina sentencing laws are far more severe than other states yet the incidents of DUI fatalities are some of the highest in the nation.

I can’t tell you how many people, including senators and representatives, have asked me when my son will be eligible for parole. The answer is NEVER. South Carolina considers DUI a violent crime, despite the lack of malice or intent.

One of our victims said to me – “the circumstances could easily have been reversed. My son could have been driving and your son could have been the victim.”

As a state that holds its Christian values in such high regard, where are the Christian values of forgiveness and second chances? We are not asking for all offenders to be guaranteed early release, only for the opportunity to earn parole.  

Please consider allowing these non-violent offenders to be eligible for parole. Locking them up for prolonged sentences with no chance to earn parole serves no one. Not the victim, not the families on either side, certainly not the state and not society to which they will someday return to.

I fear that sometimes you disregard these pleas as just a Mom’s wish to have her son home. You may think this could never happen to you or your family. That’s what I used to think.

 “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Thank you in advance for your consideration and for the opportunity to express

my position.

Laurie McDermott       14701 SW 21 Street     Ft. Lauderdale Florida 33325

954-629-7854

There is no greater loss than a loss of life and no penalty, no matter how severe can compensate for that loss. Our family supports all measures to prevent DUI.

Let me give you some background on how I became interested in this issue. In November of 2014, my son, Riley McDermott, who was 24 at the time, was the cause of a tragic, fatal DUI accident. At the time he was working at his first job after graduating from Anderson University with a Kinesiology degree, as an assistant baseball coach at the university. He had never been in any trouble but made an immature decision to drive after drinking that changed his and many others lives forever.

Since that life changing l day I have learned more about DUI sentencing laws than I ever wanted to know. I learned that:

  • DUI with fatality is considered violent, and therefore is not parole eligible.
  • That there is nothing a convicted person can do to earn a reduction in their sentence. (Riley has taught GED since his incarceration at 3 different facilities.)Work credits cannot be used towards early release for felony DUI.
  • Good behavior means nothing in terms of sentence reduction. (Riley has had no incidents in the 10 years of his incarceration.)
  • Sentencing reform is never given much attention. (Every year of his incarceration there have been different bills introduced that never gets to committee for consideration.)
  • Statistics show that DUI offenders are not problematic inmates and show no violent behavior.
  • South Carolina sentencing laws are far more severe than other states yet the incidents of DUI fatalities are some of the highest in the nation.

I can’t tell you how many people, including senators and representatives, have asked me when my son will be eligible for parole. The answer is NEVER. South Carolina considers DUI a violent crime, despite the lack of malice or intent.

One of our victims said to me – “the circumstances could easily have been reversed. My son could have been driving and your son could have been the victim.”

As a state that holds its Christian values in such high regard, where are the Christian values of forgiveness and second chances? We are not asking for all offenders to be guaranteed early release, only for the opportunity to earn parole.  

Please consider allowing these non-violent offenders to be eligible for parole. Locking them up for prolonged sentences with no chance to earn parole serves no one. Not the victim, not the families on either side, certainly not the state and not society to which they will someday return to.

I fear that sometimes you disregard these pleas as just a Mom’s wish to have her son home. You may think this could never happen to you or your family. That’s what I used to think.

 “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Thank you in advance for your consideration and for the opportunity to express my position.



Laurie McDermott

14701 SW 21 Street

Ft. Lauderdale Florida 33325

954-629-7854