I hope the good people of Dallas County know how lucky they are. They have a District Attorney who is more interested in honesty and justice, than in making himself look good and racking up courtroom victories at any cost.
Since his election in 2006, Craig Watkins (pictured above) has let it be known that the Dallas County DA's office is not interested in convicting innocent people or fighting to uphold past convictions of innocent people.
This may sound like common sense, but it is amazing how many District Attorney's fight the release of inmates when new evidence shows they are innocent. They are more interested in protecting past convictions than releasing innocent people.
Watkins has created a Conviction Integrity Unit, which reviews cases where DNA evidence was not used and investigates accusations of prosecutorial misconduct. His office has exonerated more wrongfully-convicted people (14) than any other county in the country.
Recently, it was discovered that the State Bar had suspended Watkin's license to practice law. It was not for any kind of misconduct -- he had simply forgot to pay his license renewal fee. He has now paid the fee.
But Watkins did not try to blame others or make excuses. He just owned up to his mistake. Watkins said, "As I have always maintained, this office is going to be open and up front about everything, including mistakes. I apologize to the citizens of Dallas County and accept full responsibility for this payment oversight, and I will make sure that this does not happen again."
It almost makes me wish I lived in Dallas County, so I could vote for this honest man when he runs for re-election.
