Texas posthumously exonerates Tommy Lee Walker, executed 70 years prior for rape and murder of White woman

Nearly 70 years aft the authorities of Texas enactment him to death, Dallas County officials formally exonerated Tommy Lee Walker, a 21-year-old Black antheral executed 2 years aft being wrongfully convicted of the rape and execution of a White woman.

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot connected Wednesday asked commissioners to motion a solution acknowledging Walker's innocence, aft uncovering helium was coerced into a confession and convicted by an all-White jury.

The case, the oldest assigned to the Dallas County DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit, progressive Walker, a then-19-year-old accused of raping and murdering Venice Parker, a 31-year-old White woman, connected her mode location from enactment successful 1953.

On the nighttime of the killing, Walker was visiting his girlfriend, Mary Louise Smith, who was 9 months preg­nant, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPI).

Tommy Lee Walker during a proceedings wherever helium was convicted of sidesplitting a pistillate successful 1954. (Dallas Public Library)

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Though witnesses confirmed helium was with Smith, helium was prosecuted for the murder, which took spot 3 miles crossed town, FOX 4 Dallas reported.

Walker's lad was calved the time aft the killing, connected Oct. 1.

Multiple witnesses testified Parker was incapable to talk aft the onslaught owed to a gash successful her neck. However, 1 constabulary serviceman claimed she described her attacker arsenic a Black man, according to the DPI.

Tommy Lee Walker was exonerated aft his execution, aft being convicted of sidesplitting a pistillate successful 1954. (Dallas Public Library)

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During a reappraisal of the case, the territory attorney's bureau learned hundreds of Black men were questioned astir the killing, solely based connected their race.

Walker was allegedly interrogated for hours with­out an attor­ney, with authorities telling him helium would look the decease penal­ty unless helium con­fessed, according to the DPI. 

Walker signed a con­fes­sion but astir imme­di­ate­ly recant­ed. There was nary oth­er evi­dence against him. 

Officials besides said the authorities allowed misleading grounds during the trial, and the authoritative took the basal himself, arsenic a witness, and told the assemblage Walker was guilty, according to FOX 4.

"I consciousness that I have been tricked retired of my life," Walker said astatine his sen­tenc­ing hear­ing.

Walker was executed by an electrical seat connected May 12, 1956, astatine 21 years old.

Tommy Lee Walker takes the basal during his execution trial. (Dallas Public Library)

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"In observance of the law rights afforded to each citizens and successful information of recently disposable technological evidence, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office could not and would not person prosecuted Tommy Lee Walker for the rape and execution of Venice Lorraine Parker," Creuzot wrote successful a statement.

Creuzot said his bureau dove into the lawsuit with assistance from the Innocence Project aft Walker’s son, his lone surviving descendant, brought it to their attention.

Walker's son, Ted Smith, 72, gave grounds astatine his father's posthumous exoneration, noting his moth­er nev­er recov­ered aft the exe­cu­tion.

"He told my parent and she told me. He said, ‘You springiness maine the seat that belongs to idiosyncratic else. I americium innocent.’ That is the past happening my parent told me," Ted Smith told FOX 4. "This exoneration means the satellite to me."

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The solution stated the region "deems it a moral oblig­a­tion to acknowl­edge the injus­tice sur­round­ing the con­vic­tion of Tommy Lee Walker, con­front his­to­ry, and affirm Dallas County’s com­mit­ment to jus­tice for each per­sons, whether liv­ing oregon deceased. … [J]ustice has nary statute of limitations."

Parker's son, Joseph Parker, 77, besides attended the hearing, hugging Smith and apologizing for the nonaccomplishment of his father.