Dallas County district attorney reconciles opposition to death penalty with the law
STAR-TELEGRAM
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins created a conviction
integrity unit. He invited law students into his office to help probe
for wrongful convictions. And there is at least one other way Watkins
differs from most other prosecutors: He is personally opposed to
capital punishment. In recent interviews, Watkins discussed those
feelings and how he reconciles them with Texas law and the policies
of his office.
Why are you opposed to capital punishment?
I’m a human being, and as a human being, I will not kill anybody. I
don’t want to use my position to take a life, even though you may go
out and do a heinous crime. I may be even worse than you because I
have the full weight of the government behind me. For me to use the
full weight of the government to do the same thing that you did, is
that justifiable?
We just agreed to seek the death penalty against a guy that raped a 3-
year-old girl and strangled her and left her under a bed. When I see
that, the human side of me says, "Yeah, that guy should be killed."
But then the government is the supreme being, right? You’re in a
supreme position. You’re higher than human existence and you should
carry yourself as such.
Given your feelings, when your office seeks the death penalty, do you
personally sign off on that?
Professionally that’s something I have to do . . . for the
citizens I represent. . . . It’s the law and I have to
implement it. I can’t let my personal views get in the way of what
the public wants.
Will your feelings about the death penalty ever affect the policy of
your office?
I would like to think that I have the courage to stand up and say no
[to capital punishment]. But I’m not at that point. I don’t know
if I ever will be. It’s so early in my career as DA. I don’t have
any seniority. I don’t have any credibility. . . . That might
be a fight that I should fight, but at this point it’s too early.
Do decisions on capital cases cause you any sleepless nights?
All the time. Not just the ones that I make the decision on. Every
time I read in the newspaper that someone is going to the death
chamber, I don’t sleep. . . . They just did one last week
with one of the Texas Seven. I pay attention to that. That’s
something I struggle with, even though the person did something
really bad.
Are you concerned your position on capital punishment will hurt you
politically?
I think it will, obviously. I can foresee the attacks that will come
my way. But at the end of the day, the public wants honesty and
openness. The fact that I am publicly trying to come to a conclusion
on this is good for the system, and it’s good for politics. I
don’t think politicians are honest enough. — Tim Madigan
http://www.star- telegram. com/dallas_ news/story/ 1041952.html
