Craig Watkins, former Dallas County District Attorney, dies at 56
Watkins was the first Black man to be elected district attorney in Dallas County and is nationally known for creating the first Conviction Integrity Unit in the country
By Frank Heinz and Candace Sweat • Published December 12, 2023 • Updated on December 12, 2023 at 11:02 pm
ISTRICT ATTONEY HAS
Craig Watkins, Dallas County’s first black district attorney, has died. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his death on Tuesday. The news sent shockwaves throughout Dallas County, especially among those who knew Watkins and worked closely with him during his historic back-to-back terms. During that time, Watkins was the first in the country to establish a ‘conviction integrity unit formally.’ NBC 5’s Candace Sweat spoke with a man who was acquitted during Watkin’s tenure.
Craig Wakins, the former Dallas County District Attorney who is best known for rebuilding trust in the office through his Conviction Integrity Unit and for targeting sex offenders for prosecution, has died at the age of 56.
Watkins’s death on Tuesday was confirmed by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office, though his cause of death has not been provided.
His fierce focus on the prosecution of child abuse cases and his creation of the first Conviction Integrity Unit in the nation are testaments to his vision and ability to effect change.
Watkins, a Dallas native and product of the Dallas ISD, graduated first from Prairie View A&M University and went on to earn his law degree from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.
After working as a public defender and in private practice, Watkins broke barriers in 2007 when he became the first Black man to be elected district attorney in Dallas County — some say he was the first Black man to be elected DA in the state.
Watkins remained in office in Dallas County for two terms but lost a re-election bid to Republican Susan Hawk in 2015 following an FBI probe into allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
In 2017, after Hawk had resigned and was replaced by Republican Faith Johnson, Watkins considered running for his old job but said the decision was ultimately going to be decided by him and his wife.
The day before the filing deadline, he told NBC 5 that he’d decided against a return to public office and instead would be focusing on his family while continuing to work in private practice.
According to his bio on the district attorney’s webpage in 2015, under Watkins’s leadership, the Dallas County DA’s office achieved a 99.4% conviction rate and focused on protecting children by locking up sex offenders and child predators.
A highlight of his career in the district attorney’s office was the creation of the Conviction Integrity Unit, which reviewed more than 300 cases and helped free 25 wrongly convicted inmates. The creation of that unit led to Watkins being named one of Governing Magazines Public Officials of the Year in 2008.
Current Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said he was proud to hold the same office as someone who was able to effect change and leave behind such a powerful legacy.
“I am saddened to learn of the passing of my former colleague Craig Watkins. Craig was bright and ambitious and for his life to end so prematurely is a tragedy, however, he leaves behind a powerful legacy. He made history as the first elected African-American district attorney in Texas. His fierce focus on the prosecution of child abuse cases and his creation of the first Conviction Integrity Unit in the nation are testaments to his vision and ability to effect change,” Creuzot said. “Craig was perfectly human, and those who knew him are better for it. I am proud to have known him, to have worked with him, and to have been elected to the same office he held. He will be missed.”
Creuzot vividly remembers getting a call from former DA Craig Watkins about.
“He called me and told me that he agreed with my policies and that he was supportive of them,” he said.
Creuzot said Watkins set a different tone upon taking office.
“When Craig came along he brought new and different energy to the District Attorney’s office and he sought a different approach and you saw that in the Conviction Integrity Unit and in the constant reminder that a persecutors job is a to do justice and not necessarily get a conviction,” said Creuzot.
Mike Ware is executive director of the Innocence Project of Texas. He received a personal request from Watkins in 2007 to come and work on the Conviction Integrity Unit. Watkins policies didn’t come without scrutiny and heavy criticism.
“It did not make him popular with the police. It did not make him popular with the victims unions at the time, but it was the right thing to do,” said Ware.
Cory Session, vice president of the Innocence Project, said Watkins set the bar and that his death is a massive loss.
Watkins is survived by his wife Tanya and their three children. Details about a memorial service have not been announced.
