Sue Hawk

We Knew Craig Watkins Was In Trouble, but Last Night Was Ugly

As in any good tragedy, Craig Watkins' tumble from his perch as Dallas County district attorney was preceded by hubris and stupidity. After badly underperforming compared with the rest of his party in his 2010 re-election win against Republican Danny Clancy, Watkins did everything possible to ensure ... More >>

Democratic PAC Says DA Candidate Susan Hawk Let a Killer Roam Free. Um, Not Exactly.

For three years, a confessed attempted murderer roamed the streets of Dallas, going on a crime spree that ended when he killed a man in July 2007. Michael Wyatt had pleaded guilty to the attempted murder in 2004, but the Dallas District Attorney's Office wanted him to testify against his co-defendan ... More >>

Craig Watkins' Office Sees Conspiracy Behind News' Request for Public Records

A lawyer for the Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins says politics is behind a Dallas Morning News lawsuit seeking to force Watkins' office to comply with Texas' public records law and release documents about how the district attorney spends forfeiture funds. "This is not about trying to ... More >>

Greg Abbott Shoots Down Local Rep's Call for Independent Watkins Investigation

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott rejected a request from Republican state Representative Jason Villalba to investigate Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins' use of asset forfeiture funds to make good on a February 2013 traffic accident Watkins caused. Abbott told Villalba that he can't in ... More >>

Craig Watkins Reportedly Dropped Trinity Pig Blood Case Over Trespassing Investigator

The criminal case against Columbia Packing and the Ondrusek brothers, a.k.a. the Trinity River pig blood guys, sure seems like it should have been a slam dunk. How could investigators possibly botch a case in which there is literally a trail of blood leading directly to the suspected culprits? By t ... More >>

Susan Hawk Demands to Know Why Craig Watkins Dropped 30 Felony Charges In Trinity Pig Blood Case

Earlier this week, the Dallas County District Attorney's office mysteriously dropped all felony charges against Columbia Packing Co. and its vice president, Joseph Carl Ondrusek Jr., for dumping pig blood into a tributary of the Trinity River in January 2012. Counting last month's dismissal of the c ... More >>

SMU Student Donald Cuba Found Not Guilty of Rape

A Dallas County jury has found Donald Cuba not guilty of rape, The Dallas Morning News' Melissa Repko is reporting. Cuba, a 20-year-old junior, was accused of raping a fellow student in a dorm room early on the morning of February 10, 2012. As we wrote this morning, the trial has offered a few glim ... More >>

Dallas County Exonerates Two More Men, 30 Years After the Crime They Didn't Commit

This morning, two men stood in the same courtroom where they were convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to life in prison for a rape and shooting that happened almost 30 years ago. This time, both were smiling, as they were one step closer to exiting the criminal justice hell that consumed t ... More >>

Beyond DNA, Difficult Tests for the Justice System

Freeing the wrongfully convicted through science was the easy part. Now what?

After 14 Years in Prison, Dale Duke Is Cleared of Sexual Abuse Conviction and Free At Last

Photo by Leslie MinoraDale Duke, second from right, with his parents and Judge Susan Hawke.​As a free man for the first time in 14 years, Dale Duke tightly embraced his tearful mother. His every move followed by a swarm of cameras, the wrongfully imprisoned man, now 60, exited the packed court ... More >>

Tomorrow, Dallas DA Craig Watkins to Ask Judge to Free Innocent Man in Prison Since '97

Dallas County District Attorney's OfficeDale Duke​On April 30, 1992, Dale Lincoln Duke was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on the charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Four months later, according to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office and its Conviction Integrity Unit, D ... More >>

Party Boy: Michael Manos, Or "Mordan Stefanov," Cuts a Deal Before Trial Starts

Photo by Brett VanderUnder the name "Mordan Stefanov," Manos was a party planner and aspiring Dallas nightlife star in late 2009.​Since we caught up with him last, not a whole lot has changed for Michael Manos, the aspiring nightlife starlet and entertainer who threw extravagant parties back in th ... More >>

GOP County Chair Neerman Cites "Potential Appearance of Impropriety" As DA's Wife Works as Consultant for Judicial Candidates

Hal SamplesJonathan Neerman says Craig and Tanya Watkins have an "ethical dilemma" on their hands.With the role of consultants in the city under the microscope because of what we've learned in the Dallas City Hall federal corruption trial, it seemed like a good time to check in on newbie Tanya Watki ... More >>

After 23 Years, One More Wrongfully Convicted Dallas Man Tastes Freedom

Clay Graham From left to right: James C. Giles, Thomas McGowan, James Waller and Charles Chatman Clay Graham, a newly minted lawyer with The Innocence Project of Texas, was on hand in the courtroom of Judge Susan Hawk yesterday and snapped photos as Thomas McGowan, wrongfully convicted of burglary ... More >>

For the 16th Time, a Dallas County Prisoner Has Been Exonerated Following DNA Testing

Thomas McGowan Moments ago, Unfair Park received a media release from The Innocence Project that says tomorrow afternoon, Thomas McGowan -- who's spent the past 23 years behind bars after being convicted of rape and burglary in Dallas County -- will be released from prison, as DNA testing has reveal ... More >>

How Another Innocent Dallas County Man Spent 23 Years in Prison

Best Rookie Judge

Susan Hawk