THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Craig Watkins may be the only prosecutor in America who is making his name getting people out of prison. As district attorney of Dallas County, Mr. Watkins is using DNA evidence to investigate more than 400 guilty verdicts notched up by his predecessors. His office's Conviction Integrity Unit, launched last year for this purpose, has so far cleared six men wrongly convicted of rape, murder or robbery. In the past two decades, more than 200 convicts nationwide have been freed thanks in part to DNA testing. 

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: Making across-the-board cuts has been the preferred way that Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature have chosen to deal with the state's declining revenues. Rather than setting priorities, every state agency has been told once again this year to hold back 4 percent of its budget — and that's on top of prior cuts. The downside of such simplistic fiscal management is starkly evident in the state criminal justice system. Here, where most of the costs are related to salaries and personnel, any cuts mean fewer people to keep cases moving and on track.