Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has become a leader, not only in Texas but nationally, in the effort to exonerate wrongfully convicted prisoners. Watkins was elected District Attorney in 2006 with only 51% of the vote. He had lost the election four years before and been rejected from a job at the district attorney’s office three times.
During Watkins’ first week in office as District Attorney, two things occurred that would lay the foundation for Watkins’ future reputation in the wrongful conviction community. The first was his refusal to destroy old evidence as a cost-saving measure and the second was his apology to a man exonerated by DNA evidence. A reporter happened to be in the courtroom during the hearing where Watkins apologized and he wrote a story. The story caught the attention of many people including wrongful conviction activists who told Watkins about other problematic cases. A member of his staff suggested that Watkins start a unit to investigate the cases.
Watkins started a conviction integrity unit in 2007. He persuaded the county to spend $450,000 for the four person unit. By 2010, the unit had helped exonerate almost a dozen innocent prisoners and helped Watkins win reelection. District attorney’s offices across the nation have started similar units. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen resurrected a previously disbanded conviction integrity unit in 2010 headed by Special Assistant District Attorney David Angel. Under Angel’s leadership, Santa Clara’s conviction integrity unit has taken a broad approach to their role and strives to catch errors before they occur by educating prosecutors about potential problem areas.
This spring, Watkins was present in the back of the room as Charles Allen Chatman told how DNA evidence exonerated him after 26 years in prison. Chatman looked at Watkins and said, “I never thought I’d say another man was my hero. But this man right here is my hero.”
For more, read the story in the Los Angeles Times here.