Texas Black man exonerated 70 years after execution in case marked by racial bias | US crime
Nearly 70 years after a black Texas man was executed in a case that prosecutors now say was based on false evidence and rife with racial bias, authorities have declared him innocent in the murder of a white woman in Dallas.
Tommy Lee Walker was executed in the electric chair for the rape and murder of 31-year-old Venice Parker in May 1956.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Walker attacked store clerk Parker, who was returning home on the evening of September 30, 1953. Parker’s murder occurred at a time of panic and racial division in the Dallas area; According to the Dallas County criminal district attorney’s office, there were reports that the so-called voyeur Tom, who was believed to be Black, was terrorizing women.
However, with the help of the prosecutor, a comprehensive review of Walker’s conviction was conducted. Innocence Project New York and Northeastern University School of Law Civil Rights and Restorative Justice ProjectHe found multiple problems with Walker’s case.
The review found problems with the testimony of a Dallas police officer who claimed that Parker identified the attacker as a Black man. But at a county commissioners meeting Wednesday to ask authorities to declare Walker innocent, Dallas district attorney John Creuzot said multiple witnesses denied Parker “did anything other than convulsing and bleeding profusely” after being attacked.
Hundreds of Black men were arrested by authorities for several months after Parker’s murder, and four months later, Walker, then 19, was arrested.
Walker was subjected to threatening and coercive interrogation tactics by Dallas police captain Will Fritz, a Ku Klux Klan member, Creuzot said.
Creuzot testified that Walker later confessed to the murder because he feared for his life.
At his trial, Walker’s attorneys presented 10 witnesses who testified they were with Walker and his girlfriend giving birth to their son, Edward Lee Smith, at a local hospital at the time of the murder, according to the Innocence Project.
“But it didn’t have much of an impact in Jim Crow Dallas,” the Innocence Project said, using a term for a period when Black Americans were subjected to oppressive discrimination.
Walker was convicted by an all-white jury in 1954.
“The prosecution in this case presented misleading and unacceptable evidence,” Creuzot said. “While this case had undeniable legal flaws, it was rife with racial injustice at a time when prejudice and bigotry were woven into every aspect of society, including the criminal justice system.”
Creuzot credited the work of journalist Mary Mapes, who first began investigating Walker’s case 13 years ago.
“He paid with his life for a crime he could not have committed,” Mapes told commissioners.
During an emotional moment at Wednesday’s meeting, Walker’s son Smith, now 72, and the victim’s son, Joseph Parker, hugged each other.
“I’m very sorry about what happened,” Parker told Smith.
“And I’m sorry for your loss,” Smith replied.
Smith had previously told commissioners that his father’s unjust execution was very difficult for him and his mother.
“I’m 72 years old and I still miss my dad,” Smith said while crying. “She said, ‘Baby, they’re giving your dad the electric chair for something he didn’t do.’”
Joseph Parker told commissioners he hopes Walker’s exoneration will help prevent wrongful convictions in the future. He said we must learn not to make the same mistake again.
“What’s the mistake? The mistake is injustice, the taking of an innocent life,” Parker said.
At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, Dallas County commissioners unanimously adopted a symbolic resolution declaring that Walker was wrongfully convicted and executed and that what happened to him constituted a “profound miscarriage of justice.”
