Earlier this week, Democratic District Attorney Craig Watkins appears on the Colbert Report to talk about his efforts in Dallas County to use DNA evidence to fix wrongful convictions. The clip is embedded below and for further reading, browse through this interview of Watkins by Reason Magazine.
Eric Johnson, who is challenging Democratic incumbent Terri Hodge in House District 100 in Dallas, picked up the endorsement of District Attorney Craig Watkins in a press release this morning.
The endorsement announcement coincides with the Statesman's Jason Embry declaring Hodge, whose federal bribery trial is scheduled for next year, to be the most endangered Texas house incumbent in next March's party primaries.
However, many would disagree with Hodge being number one on that list and Embry concedes that the long time incumbent's campaign is "far from dead." Hodge still retains the support of U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and County Commissioner John Wiley Price. To be sure though, Johnson, who raised $100,000 in 100 days, is the most serious opponent Hodge has faced in years.
While endorsements are important at this stage of the race to build credibility, Johnson himself told the DMN's Gromer Jeffers, "Endorsements don't vote. People vote. We're going straight to the people of District 100 for their support."
Terri Moore, a former federal prosecutor, Democratic candidate for Tarrant County District Attorney, and currently Assistant District Attorney to Craig Watkins in Dallas, is considered to be a top candidate for U.S. attorney in the North Texas region.
Current U.S. attorney for the North Texas region, Richard Roper, announced he was stepping aside and joining the prestigious law firm of Thompson and Knight. The window of opportunity for Moore has now opened.
Moore has run twice now for Tarrant County District Attorney coming within a fistful of percentage points each time to knocking off Republican Tim Curry, who reportedly is in declining health. Terri Moore, as a U.S. Assistant Attorney in Fort Worth, successfully prosecuted one of the largest internet child porn cases in U.S. history. She has also had tremendous experience in prosecuting gang-related crimes. As mentioned above, Moore has been serving as Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins right hand, assisting with the tremendous progress his office has made with advancing a progressive form of justice that the rest of Texas should take note of. Her experience and resume is a perfect match for a U.S. attorney's post.
With President-Elect Barack Obama set to be the 44th President of the United States, he will be in position to recommend Moore for the U.S. attorney position. I've known Terri for several years now and worked with her on her campaigns. She is a tremendous woman with great experience. The North Texas region will be well served with her in such an important post.
Without a doubt an appropriate honor came the way of first-term District Attorney Craig Watkins when the Dallas Morning News chose to honor the African-American chief prosecutor of Dallas County as their Texan of the Year for 2008. I want to echo their nod.
Watkins benefited from the Dallas County Democratic sweep by landing in the Dallas County D.A.'s office in 2006. He has proceeded to transcend a new way of viewing and practicing justice in Texas. And, along the way, has opened the door for the wrongly convicted to have their due justice as well. In a state drunk on capital punishment, Watkins progressive tonic is a much needed refreshing dose of 21st century justice. The DMN adds:
He [Watkins] is actively pursuing a range of reforms that would protect the wrongly accused and appropriately punish the guilty. Not only does he want to clear the innocent, but he also hopes to extend the statute of limitations in DNA cases to ensure that the right person does the time.
He has reinvented his office by creating a conviction integrity unit, an operation that has freed prisoners who were wrongly locked up for murder, robbery and rape. Not content to just notch wins in the courtroom, Mr. Watkins deserves credit for vigilantly pursuing justice - a distinction with an important difference.
Dallas County leads the country in DNA exonerations (19 and counting), and Mr. Watkins has seized upon the attendant acclaim, taking his fight for social justice to statewide and national stages. In his sudden fame, he sees an opportunity to change the way district attorneys do business.
An op-ed in the Sarasota Herald Tribune explains the problems with the way their state's justice system handles confessions as evidence. (heraldtribune.com)
Kirk Bloodsworth, the first person to be exonerated from death row based on DNA evidence, spoke at Cornell University this week about flaws in the criminal justice system that led to his conviction. (cornellsun.com)
An op-ed in the Dallas Morning News urges Dallas County DA Craig Watkins to take a "long, hard look" at State District Judge Rick Magnis's recommendation that Ben Spencer, who has spent 21 years behind bars for murder, be freed based on new evidence that witnesses who claimed to have seen him exit the victim's car the night of the murder could not have clearly identified him. (dallasnews.com)
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