E7-P3 Ruth Sumlin-For the Love of a Good Woman

In the final part of our three-part series on Ruth Sumlin, The Coroner’s Report follows the case from the discovery of J.Y. “Shorty” Cooper’s mutilated body along a logging road, through Ruth’s shocking confessions, and into the courtroom battles that sealed her fate.

We trace how investigators, including retired Arkansas State Police investigator David Hendershott, pieced together evidence linking Ruth to the jailbreak, the shooting, and the gruesome aftermath. Courtroom testimony reveals contradictions, shifting stories, and Ruth’s willingness to sacrifice herself for Warren Sumlin — the man she claimed both controlled her and convinced her to “take the rap.”

The jury sentenced Ruth to life without parole, while Warren initially received the death penalty, later commuted to life. Both would spend the rest of their days behind bars. Yet even in prison, Ruth clung to Warren and her faith, singing gospel with the “Prodigal Daughters” prison quintet, writing a memoir that never saw publication, and repeatedly seeking clemency — all denied.

Today, at 70 years old, Ruth remains confined at the McPherson Unit in Newport, Arkansas. She has served nearly five decades, still insisting she will not die in prison. But the question lingers: was she a cold-blooded killer, or a young woman manipulated into a life sentence by a man she couldn’t let go? What do you think?