Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Hopefully, Not the End of Innocence

Today, there's a chance that the good work of the DNA unit Dallas DA Craig Watkins set up to review the cases of men that could be wrongfully convicted - the one that's already found many who actually have been - could find itself on the chopping block. As the Dallas Morning News reports, the county has a huge budget shortfall, and is looking for ways to cut. The county is $38 million in the red, and even with something that has earned the county so much in the way of good karma and good publicity, it's possible that Watkins could be asked to do anything from cut back the staffing for that unit to eliminate it all together. If you're feeling strongly one way or another, you can contact your Dallas County commissioners here. But here's to hoping the county does the moral thing, even if it doesn't completely match up with the fiscal thing. Update: Looks like good news, according to commissioner John Wiley Price.