DA urges sanctions for prosecutors who withhold evidence
05/04/2008
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, whose office leads
the nation in wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing, says
prosecutors who intentionally withhold evidence should face criminal
charges or other harsh sanctions.
Watkins said the worst offenders might deserve prison time, and
that he's considering a campaign to mandate disbarment for any
prosecutor who intentionally withholds evidence from the defense.
"Something should be done," Watkins told The Dallas Morning
News in Sunday's editions. "If the harm is a great harm, yes, it should
be criminalized."
Thirty-one people have been formally exonerated through DNA
testing in Texas and 17 in Dallas County — both figures the highest in
the U.S. since 2001. Those totals don't include at least four whose
exonerations are not yet official.
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