Da re examine DP cases



District Attorney Craig Watkins does not want to see an innocent man
executed on his watch.

Around this unassailable goal, there is near universal agreement.

So, while the details of the district attorney's approach no doubt will be
debated, Mr. Watkins is right to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that
Dallas County does not make a deadly error. His announcement this week that
nearly 40 death penalty convictions will be re-examined provides additional
assurances that executions will proceed only in cases that are air tight.

A deluge of DNA exonerations in Dallas County has shaken confidence in the
judicial system, spurring serious questions about flawed photo lineups,
erroneous eyewitness testimony and prosecutorial misconduct.

The errors that have emerged offer a compelling argument for halting the
state's machinery of death. In effect, Mr. Watkins is doing just that – at
least temporarily.

Admittedly, death penalty cases already must meet a higher bar as they wind
their way through the courts. But the DNA exonerations in other types of
cases understandably convinced Mr. Watkins that every effort must be made to
prevent a wrongful conviction from costing an inmate his life.

His call for a closer examination of death penalty cases should echo across
Texas and compel leaders to create a state innocence commission to examine
wrongful convictions.

While Mr. Watkins' objectives are laudable, some of his tactics have been
questionable. The district attorney sometimes seems to prefer to do his job
with cameras in tow. And this newly announced review surely will bring more
national attention and a brighter spotlight.

Some victims' families could have been spared the angst that this
re-examination will bring if the process had been launched quietly. Once the
district attorney's office identified the few – if any – questionable cases,
Mr. Watkins could have gone public with plans to halt those executions.

Ultimately, though, Mr. Watkins is determined to do the right thing: ensure
that Dallas County doesn't get it wrong when a person's life is at stake.

http://www.dallasne ws.com/sharedcon tent/dws/ dn/opinion/ editorials/ stories/DN- watkins_19edi. ART.State. Edition1. 2749747.html