Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins on the Colbert Report

Darn Good Job. (0.00 / 0)

I hope Craig Watkins will consider higher office in the future...he could bring a lot of common sense justice to the entire state ~ like he has in Dallas County since his unexpected election in 2006.

No other county in America -- and almost no state, for that matter -- has freed more innocent people from prison in recent years than Dallas County, where Wade was DA from 1951 through 1986.

Current District Attorney Craig Watkins, who in 2006 became the first black elected chief prosecutor in any Texas county, said that more wrongly convicted people will go free.

"There was a cowboy kind of mentality and the reality is that kind of approach is archaic, racist, elitist and arrogant," said Watkins, who is 40 and never worked for Wade or met him. [emphasis added]

I had missed this, KT. Thanks.  

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by: Elsbeth @ Sun Dec 06, 2009 at 00:22:54 AM UTC

The exception rather than the rule... (0.00 / 0)

He is pretty much alone in Texas although some have some hope for Pat Lykos who has taken on a judge over his misogyny which shocked quite a few as did her "don't let the door hit you on the way out" response when several prosecutors decided to make "political" statement by resigning.  She is, well, a bitch. Probably what we needed.

The Justice Department, if we still have one, uses "standards" which must be in place before it will investigate matters, most of them with regard to "systemic patterns" and perhaps Craig Watkins at some point will have determined a pattern that meets the standard not only for Dallas County but for all of Texas and we will finally see the Justice Department move in and start cleaning up most of our district attorneys offices.

Except for Williamson County. I don't think even the Justice Department wants to mess with John Bradley.  

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by: Baby Snooks @ Sun Dec 06, 2009 at 11:53:34 AM UTC

Great for Dallas DA Watkins (0.00 / 0)

I do hope more counties and states across the country continue to look into wrongful convictions.  Dallas is not alone in wrongful convictions.  Thanks to the task force Watkins helped put in place they are leading in correcting their mistakes.

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by: sonia @ Mon Dec 07, 2009 at 00:59:10 AM UTC