"Dallas DNA" Documentary Debuts Tuesday
Monday, Apr 27, 2009 | Updated 3:53 PM CDT
KXAS
Craig Watkins, the state's first black district attorney, took office in 2007.
For nearly 26 years, Johnnie Lindsey was in prison in Texas -- wrongly convicted.
Last year, a DNA test from a rape kit proved Lindsey innocent, and he was released. The 56-year-old man's story is part of the opening episode of the six-part TV documentary series "Dallas DNA," premiering Tuesday night on Investigation Discovery.
The series chronicles Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and efforts to use DNA evidence to clear the innocent and confirm convictions of the guilty.
A 2001 Texas law allowed inmates to request post-conviction DNA testing. Dallas prosecutors routinely denied those requests until Watkins, the state's first black district attorney, took office in 2007.
Watkins threw open the files, allowing the Innocence Project of Texas to review cases.
Dallas County's 20 DNA exonerations are the most of any county in the nation.
Click here to watch the trailer.
