Crime against the state?

There's apparently a district attorney race going on in Dallas County (between two Republicans, as far as I can tell from yard signs - not that that means anything), which sets me to wondering what kind of nutcase would like being a district attorney. DAs prosecute crimes against the state, and in the last election they winner bragged in radio ads about how many men he'd sent to death.

What's with the idea of a crime against the state anyways? Murder is a crime against the friends, family, and acquaintances of the victim. Naturally there will be times when these folks won't have the money to hire a lawyer, and that's what pro bono lawyers are for. The only other crime against the state that comes to mind are drug crimes, which if you're reading this blog, you probably recognize are ridiculous (if you don't, look here.) Obviously these guys can't rationally think they're taking the moral high ground and defending the people, so what are they looking for? It must be power, and it's power that there's not really a reason to exist. Let's fire the district attorneys and save ourselves some money.