James Woodard, a black man, was dishonestly convicted of raping and murdering his girlfriend in 1981 and sentenced to life in prison. He was released on April 29, the 17th Dallas County inmate to be exonerated by DNA testing. According to CNN: "The jury believed Woodard was the last person seen with the victim. But according to court records, there were two other men that were with her. Police never followed up on the lead and prosecutors never shared the information with defense attorneys, even though they were legally obligated to do so."
Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins has gone on record as saying that corrupt prosecutors ought to be punished. Watkins wants to make it a crime from now on for prosecutors to knowingly hide or suppress evidence that could help a defendant. Naturally, many in the legal community there are alarmed by his comments, and especially those who are guilty of crimes against innocents.
Woodward told CNN: ""I think he should pay a penalty. I paid 27 years. He took my life away from me. What's the difference if it's by a gun, by words or by lies?"
I could not agree more!
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