STATE & NATIONAL: On Wednesday, the report was announced of the death of long time public servant, Craig Watkins. Watkins served Dallas County as the District Attorney for 8 years. The former Dallas County D.A. was 56.
By Anne M. Erbynstein
Through his deeply permeating DNA research, one Judge commented, Watkins "...restored many people's faith inthe justice system..." as a result of a number of lawful efforts.
Known as a trailblazer, a public servant who contributed generously to Tarrant county, demonstrating support for those with whom he worked.
According to comments by Dallas Attorney, Heath Harris, Watkins served the county with conscientiousness, upholding the laws despite his personal espousals. Harris once stated that Watkins was not a DA who approved of the death penalty, nonetheless, exercised the law with probity.
Watkins was , also, well regarded for the substantial efforts made in regard to securing data in association with crime and criminals. Watkins was , also, well known for digging deeper into details surrounding any DNA evidence that might surface to prove whether an old case and other convictions had been wrongfully resolved.
Since the time of his service as a district Attorney, Watkins' professional interests and expertise provided a vehicle for his return to his former profession--that of a Texas attorney.
Watkins received a Bachelor's degree from Prairie View University. Later, the younger law professional recived a Juris doctorate degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.
During his career as Dallas County DA, Mr Watkins established the Conviction Integrity Unit; a program that focused on the prevention and prosecution of child abuse cases. With a 99.5% conviction record, Watkins, also, uncovered 35 wrongful conviction cases.
During his 8 years as DA, Watkins remained a member of the The National Trial Lawyers Association, The Texas Trial Lawyers Association and The Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
On December 12, former DA, Craig Watkins died at his home while his wife, Tanya and three children remained at his side. Tarrant county provided no information regarding Craig Watkins' death.
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