14th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast

Great news to share today!

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has agreed to keynote Central Dallas Ministries' 14th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast!

This special, annual gathering of community leaders from every sector--business, political, non-profit, neighborhood and community organizing, donors and folks from every corner of the city--will gather on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7:15 a.m. at the Hilton Anatole Hotel to share in a morning of inspiration and challenge.

Mr. Watkins, elected DA in 2007 and named "Texan of the Year" by The Dallas Morning News, has led a courageous and ambitious effort to re-open a significant number of criminal cases in which DNA evidence and new technology indicated erroneous verdicts by judges and juries here in Dallas County. Working in cooperation with The Innocence Project, Mr. Watkins' efforts have resulted in the exoneration of more than 20 wrongfully convicted individuals.

CDM's own Gerald Britt has been working closely with this wonderful group of men as they work hard to rebuild their lives in our community. We are hoping to hear from one of them during this special morning.














Mr. Watkins will address the importance of pursuing and ensuring integrity and fairness in the administration of criminal justice in a community like Dallas. He will also be discussing the clear link between his own important work and his personal faith walk.

It will be a wonderful event!

Save the date today. Contact us for further information by emailing event director, Lisa Goolsby at lgoolsby@CentralDallasMinistries.org or by calling her at 214.823.8710 ext. 138.

More details soon! Please help us spread the word about this important event.

.

Justice

We showed the video below at the 14th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast last week. Our keynote speaker, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins challenged the audience of about 1,000 with a message about prison reform and community justice and safety.

It was quite a morning to say the least.

Thanks to new DNA technology and to his own obvious courage and integrity, Mr. Watkins has been responsible for the exoneration of almost 30 wrongly convicted Dallas County residents.

Over the past year or so, Central Dallas Ministries, thanks largely to the leadership and commitment of Gerald Britt, has been privileged to work closely with the Innocence Project of Texas, the non-profit advocacy group representing falsely accused and convicted inmates, and with the men who have been released from prison after decades in prison.

The group of exonerees meets in one of our buildings on a monthly basis for group support and work. We've been fortunate to be able to stand with these men as they work hard to rebuild their lives.

The video that follows is the testimony of just one of our friends who has been through and unthinkable ordeal.

One of our core values at CDM is "justice." Working with these men is a pure play in this regard.

Thanksgiving for the prisoners. . .

". . .when I was in prison, you came to me"

Important value to keep in mind.

No one has "visited" prisoners more effectively than the leaders and students who work in the Innocence Project.

Go here to read a heart-felt thank you from one of the recent exonerees to round out your Thanksgiving holiday reflections.

Freedom is so precious. Justice so important.

.

Exonerated prisoners raise many questions

At last count I believe that Dallas County has reversed erroneous judgments resulting in the liberation of 18 previously wrongly convicted men.

No, make that 19. Just last week Patrick Waller was released after spending 15 years in a Texas prison for a crime he did not commit.

Waller is the 19th man in Dallas County since 2001 shown by DNA evidence to be innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. That's more than any county in the nation, according to The Innocence Project in New York, a legal center specializing in wrongful-conviction cases.

Four former inmates who collectively served nearly 100 years in prison before being exonerated lined the back wall of the crowded courtroom during Waller's final hearing. The men freed by DNA testing in Dallas County have made a habit of showing up in court for exoneration hearings, and on Thursday they presented Waller with a prepaid cell phone as a gift.

Thank God for advances in DNA technology!

For an interesting research exercise do a Google search on "exonerated prisoners in Dallas, Texas. " The stories you can read there are amazing and, at times, very sad.

The reports make you wonder how many more decisions need to be re-opened and challenged.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins should be commended for his leadership in overseeing and pushing forward the entire process. I know he won't be letting up anytime soon. Another reason to give thanks.

How would you feel if you spent 15 years of your life behind bars for a crime you didn't commit?

.