 |
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins flew to Washington, D.C., for the “Rethinking Federal Sentencing Symposium” at the U.S. Capitol for two reasons: Watkins implored Congress to make DNA testing a requirement in all states to determine a person’s innocence or guilt; and two, to join the Congressional Black Caucus’ fight to eliminate disparities in federal sentencing guidelines.
Watkins expressed grave disappointment with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, by a narrow margin, not to make it mandatory for all states to use DNA testing to determine a defendant’s innocence or guilt. “The fact that the Supreme Court ruled against the person who was seeking DNA testing to prove his innocence goes against the whole grain and fabric of what we believe in,” he says. “The ideal of justice is to seek the truth. And wherever it leads us, we should follow it.”
Watkins gave five reasons DNA is critical to the future of the American judicial system. –terry shropshire
“First of all it’s an exact science. We can prove [beyond] a shadow of [a] doubt [whether] a person committed the crime or not.
“There have been 272 exonerations throughout this country. All of those have dealt with DNA testing.”
“Even after a person has been convicted, there are still opportunities for that person to be found innocent of a crime they didn’t commit. Dallas is a perfect example of that. We’ve had 20 exonerations over the last few years.” [Which coincides with Watkins’ tenure as district attorney.]
“This is our opportunity in this country to basically provide a model for the rest of the countries in the world [as to] the best practices to utilize in implementing justice.”
“Because [DNA testing represents] progress and change, we should embrace it. We should embrace the fact that we can get it right. This is our opportunity to lay a foundation and use it to improve our justice system. … Unfortunately, some of our lawmakers failed to do that.”
