Former District Attorney Out On Parole After Serving 20 Months of a 15 YEAR Sentence

Former Rockwall District Attorney Ray Sumrow got caught with his hand in the till, literally, and was tried, convicted, sentenced, and thrown in jail for being a thief. 

And less than two years later, he’s out. 

Ray Sumrow has an interesting story.  He was the head prosecutor in Rockwall for SIX terms.  He was named “Prosecutor of the Year” by the State Bar of Texa in 2001.  He survived cancer that year, too.  Pretty popular guy, right?

Well, maybe until Ray Sumrow was discovered to have stolen around $9600 in computer stuff and cash from the county he served, as well as moving $68,000 out of the county accounts and into his own personal account for awhile (though he did put the cash back of his own accord).  What was this guy thinking? 

Less than a decade after being named Top Prosecutor, Ray Sumrow went to jail.  The State Bar of Texas that had the Big Ceremony for him back in 2001, disbarred him last summer.  In January, he was quietly released from jail and is out on parole, some thinking he’s back at home in Hunt County were he grew up.  

How’d he get out so fast?

Getting out after 20 months on a 15 year sentence sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it?  Well, some have been wondering about that — and the Board of Pardons and Paroles and others in the know, report that it all adds up.  He’s served a quarter of his sentence, and that’s the standard rule of thumb for someone to be considered for parole in Texas. 

How’d they count that up?

From what the media’s reporting, the officials have counted (1) his 20 months behind bars; (2) his 18 months of credit for good conduct; (3) his 10 months of credit for doing work while serving time.  Add those together, and you’ve got 48 months.  That’s gonna get you to 1/4 of a 15 year (180 month) sentence.

Wow.