In 2008, Rockwall County District Attorney Ray Sumrow was convicted on two counts of theft by a public servant and sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
But in January of this year, he walked out of prison, free on parole after 20 months.
According to state officials, Sumrow, now 60, was eligible for early release because of credits he earned for "good time" and "work time."
The six-term DA, who was once named Prosecutor of the Year by the State Bar of Texas, is believed to be living in Hunt County, where he grew up the son of a dairy farmer.
Efforts to reach him for comment for this article were unsuccessful.
In separate trials, Sumrow was found guilty of stealing $9,652 in computer equipment and money from a county account; and of arranging to have $68,000 in state money deposited into his personal checking account. (He used the money for about a year, apparently to avoid severe overdrafts, before paying it back.)
He was sentenced to four years in prison on the first count and 15 years on the second, the sentences to run concurrently.
He reported to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on June 26, 2008, 15 days after the second of his two sentences was handed down. According to TDCJ records, he served most of his time at the Goree Prison in Huntsville before being paroled on Jan. 29 of this year.
According to state officials, a Texas inmate generally has to serve a quarter of his or her sentence before becoming eligible for parole. That varies with the offense, but a fourth is a rule of thumb.
Here's how the system worked in Sumrow's case:
He served 20 months of "flat time," or actual time. He earned 18 months of "good time," which is credit for good conduct, and 10 months of "work time," for labor done behind bars.
That gave him a total of 48 months, or four years' credit -- more than a fourth of his 15-year (or 180-month) sentence. Thus, he became eligible for parole.
Prison officials send a list every week or so to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, identifying inmates who are up for parole. Three panel members review the inmate's file. It takes two of the three votes to grant parole.
Throughout his trials, Sumrow continued to proclaim his innocence, saying that if anything he was guilty of lousy bookkeeping, no more.
"I accept responsibility for not keeping good records," he testified. "That's why I'm here when it's all said and done."
After his second sentencing -- the one that landed him a 15-year term -- he told his sobbing family members, "It's OK. ... We'll get it overturned."
The State Bar suspended his license to practice law in 2008 and formally disbarred him in August of last year.
