Craig Watkins, Dallas’ first Black district attorney known for pushing exonerations of wrongly covicted inmates, has died at age 56, CBS News Texas reports. 

He died at his home Tuesday morning. His cause of death was not disclosed.

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of my former colleague Craig Watkins,” Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said. “Craig was bright and ambitious and for his life to end so prematurely is a tragedy, however, he leaves behind a powerful legacy.”

Watkins broke the glass ceiling in 2007 when he became the first Black man elected district attorney in Dallas County and widely believed to be Texas’ first Black DA, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reports.

Some historians say that William A. Price, the state’s first Black attorney and judge, was elected county attorney in 1876. 

While in office, Watkins, a former public defender, created the Conviction Integrity Unit, which reviewed more than 300 cases and helped free 25 wrongly convicted inmates. He emerged as a leading national advocate for falsely imprisoned individuals. 

Watkins, a Dallas native, graduated from Prairie View A&M University, an historically Black university. He’s survived by his wife, Tanya, and their three children.