US EditionTexas Black man exonerated nearly 70 years after execution in case marked by racial bias
Dallas County found Walker's 1954 conviction compromised by false evidence, coercive interrogation, prosecutorial misconduct, and racial bias in a Jim Crow-era case.
- Tommy Lee Walker, a Black man, was wrongly executed in 1956 for the rape and murder of a White woman in Dallas, Texas, during a time of racial bias and panic over a 'Peeping Tom'.
- An extensive review found major problems with Walker's case, including false evidence, coerced confession, and dismissal of alibis due to prejudice against an all-White jury.
- Nearly 70 years later, prosecutors have declared Walker innocent, citing racial injustice woven throughout the criminal justice system at that time.
88 Articles
88 Articles
Nearly 70 years after his execution, a Dallas County court acquitted American Tommy Lee Walker of the murder and rape of Venice Parker. Walker had an airtight alibi—he was present at his son's birth—but was convicted anyway. The case was riddled with false statements and questionable confessions and "was steeped in racial injustice."
Nearly 70 years after he was executed for murder and rape, American Tommy Lee Walker has been posthumously cleared of his name. The prosecution now acknowledges he had nothing to do with the case. His son, Edward Lee Smith, born on the day of the murder, is happy that justice has been served after all these years. "It won't bring him back, but now the world knows what we always knew: that he was an innocent man. That brings peace." Smith had req…
Tommy Lee Walker was executed for murder in Texas in 1956, but has now been exonerated of all criminal responsibility. A thorough examination of the case now shows that he was the victim of racism.
New York Post
Texas posthumously exonerates Tommy Lee Walker, executed 70 years prior for rape and murder of White woman
Nearly 70 years after the state of Texas put him to death, Dallas County officials formally exonerated Tommy Lee Walker, a 21-year-old Black man executed two years after being wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of a White woman.
Tommy Lee Walker, executed in Texas for the rape and murder of Venice Parker, was exonerated 70 years later by a Dallas court
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