In a poignant act of justice delayed, Dallas County officials have posthumously exonerated Tommy Lee Walker, a young Black man who was wrongfully executed nearly 70 years ago. Walker, aged 21 at the time of his death, was convicted on charges of raping and murdering Venice Parker, a White woman, based on a coerced confession and the judgment of an all-White jury.

Taking a significant step in rectifying this historic wrong, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot presented a resolution on Wednesday for official acknowledgment of Walker’s innocence. The DA’s request followed an investigation by Dallas County’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which revealed the deep flaws in Walker’s 1954 conviction.

The tragic case dates back to 1953, when Walker, then only 19, was accused of committing the heinous crime against Parker while she was returning home from work. That night, Walker was actually with his pregnant girlfriend, Mary Louise Smith, which should have served as an alibi. However, systemic racism and injustice led to his wrongful conviction and subsequent execution.

This unsettling chapter of Dallas County’s legal history has finally been revisited, shedding light on the failings of the justice system at the time. The efforts of the Conviction Integrity Unit have been crucial in bringing to light the truth about Walker’s innocence, offering a posthumous sense of justice to his memory and a sobering reminder of the racial prejudices that marred the legal proceedings of the past.

Tommy Lee Walker during a trial in which he was convicted of killing a woman in 1954. (Dallas Public Library)

Though witnesses confirmed he was with Smith, he was prosecuted for the murder, which happened 3 miles across town, FOX 4 Dallas reported.

Walker’s son was born the day after the killing on Oct. 1.

Multiple witnesses testified Parker was unable to speak after the attack due to a gash in her neck. However, one police officer claimed she described her attacker as a Black man, according to the DPI.

Tommy Lee Walker was exonerated after his execution after being convicted of killing a woman in 1954. (Dallas Public Library)

During a review of the case, the district attorney’s office learned hundreds of Black men were questioned about the killing, solely based on their race.

Walker was allegedly interrogated for hours with­out an attor­ney, and authorities told him he would face the death penal­ty unless he con­fessed, according to the DPI. 

Walker signed a con­fes­sion but almost imme­di­ate­ly recant­ed. There was no oth­er evidence against him. 

Officials also said the state allowed misleading evidence during the trial, and the prosecutor took the stand himself as a witness and told the jury Walker was guilty, according to FOX 4.

“I feel that I have been tricked out of my life,” Walker said at his sen­tenc­ing hear­ing.

Walker was executed by an electric chair May 12, 1956, at 21 years old.

Tommy Lee Walker takes the stand during his murder trial. (Dallas Public Library)

“In observance of the constitutional rights afforded to all citizens and in consideration of newly available scientific evidence, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office could not and would not have prosecuted Tommy Lee Walker for the rape and murder of Venice Lorraine Parker,” Creuzot wrote in a statement.

Creuzot said his office dove into the case with assistance from the Innocence Project after Walker’s son, his only living descendant, brought it to their attention.

Walker’s son, Ted Smith, 72, gave testimony at his father’s posthumous exoneration, noting his moth­er nev­er recov­ered after the exe­cu­tion.

“He told my mother and she told me. He said, ‘You give me the chair that belongs to someone else. I am innocent.’ That is the last thing my mother told me,” Ted Smith told FOX 4. “This exoneration means the world to me.”

The resolution stated the county “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 all per­sons, whether liv­ing or deceased. … [J]ustice has no statute of limitations.”

Parker’s son, Joseph Parker, 77, also attended the hearing, hugging Smith and apologizing for the loss of his father.