Craig Watkins
| Craig Watkins | |
|---|---|
| District Attorney of Dallas County, Texas | |
| In office 2007–2015 |
|
| Preceded by | Bill Hill |
| Succeeded by | Susan Hawk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Craig Marcus Watkins[1] November 16, 1967 [2] Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Nationality | United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Tanya Watkins |
| Alma mater | Prairie View A&M University, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Website | http://www.dallasda.com/ |
Craig Marcus Watkins (born November 16, 1967) was the district attorney for the Dallas County, Texas in the United States from 2007 to 2015. He became the first elected African American district attorney in Texas after he was elected in 2006.[3]
Education
A 1986 graduate of David W. Carter High School of Dallas,[4] Watkins graduated from Prairie View A&M University in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in political science and was part of the 1994 inaugural graduating class of the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.[5][6] He is also a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[7]
Career
Three times the Dallas County District Attorney's office rejected Watkins's bids to be a prosecutor. Watkins thus began his legal career working in the offices of the Dallas city attorney and public defender and later went into private practice as an attorney and was a licensed bail bondsman. In 2002, Watkins ran for district attorney against incumbent Republican Bill Hill and lost.[8] Watkins won the 2006 district attorney election over prosecutor Toby Shook in an election cycle where Democrats swept all judge seats also.[9]
The official biography of Watkins written by his office writes that Watkins has secured a 99.4% conviction rate and has focused on prosecuting cases of child sexual abuse.[10] Watkins has worked to resolve cases of wrongful conviction through the use of DNA testing and the review of evidence illegally withheld from defense attorneys.[3][11] On January 4, 2011, Ray Suarez interviewed Watkins live on the PBS NewsHour for the exoneration by Watkins's office of Cornelius Dupree from Dupree's armed robbery conviction.[12]
The Dallas Morning News selected Watkins as its 2008 Texan of the Year.[13]
Public records indicate that Watkins' yearly salary as of May 2012 was $125,000.[1]
In the 2014 election, Watkins was defeated by former Judge Susan Hawk.[14]
See also
References
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- Dallas County District Attorney website
- Watkins interview on PBS NewsHour about the exoneration of Cornelius Dupree
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- ↑ Texas birth index
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- ↑ 60 Minutes Profile (May 4, 2008)
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://keranews.org/post/meet-susan-hawk-dallas-countys-next-district-attorney
