Texas Man Exonerated 70 Years After Execution in Racially Biased Case
In a landmark decision, officials in Texas have formally declared a Black man innocent nearly 70 years after his execution in a case now acknowledged to be riddled with racial bias and false evidence. Tommy Lee Walker was executed in the electric chair in May 1956 for the rape and murder of 31-year-old Venice Parker, a white store clerk, but a comprehensive review has overturned this conviction.
A Case Marked by Racial Injustice
The killing of Venice Parker occurred on the evening of 30 September 1953, during a period of heightened racial tension in the Dallas area. Reports of a so-called peeping Tom, believed to be a Black man, were terrorising women, leading to widespread panic. In the months following Parker's death, authorities rounded up hundreds of Black men, and four months later, Walker, then just 19 years old, was arrested.
An extensive review conducted by the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, with assistance from the Innocence Project of New York and Northeastern University School of Law's Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, uncovered multiple critical flaws in the original case. District Attorney John Creuzot highlighted that the prosecution relied on misleading and inadmissible evidence, stating, "This case, while it has undeniable legal errors, was riddled with racial injustice during a time when prejudice and bigotry were woven throughout every aspect of society, including the criminal justice system."
False Evidence and Coercive Tactics
The review found significant problems with statements from a Dallas police officer who claimed that Parker had identified her attacker as a Black man before she died. However, multiple witnesses contradicted this, asserting that Parker did nothing but convulse and haemorrhage excessively after the attack, making any identification impossible.
Furthermore, Walker was subjected to threatening and coercive interrogation tactics by Will Fritz, a Dallas police captain who had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Walker later testified that he confessed to the killing out of fear for his life, a confession that was used against him in court.
At his trial in 1954, Walker's lawyers presented ten witnesses who testified that he was with his girlfriend at a local hospital when she gave birth to their son, Edward Lee Smith, at the time of the murder. Despite this alibi, the Innocence Project noted, "But this carried little weight in Jim Crow Dallas," referring to the era of oppressive segregation. Walker was convicted by an all-white jury.
Emotional Exoneration and Calls for Justice
During a Wednesday meeting of Dallas County Commissioners, held to formally declare Walker innocent, emotional moments unfolded. Walker's son, Edward Lee Smith, now 72 years old, and the victim's son, Joseph Parker, shared a heartfelt hug. Smith expressed his lifelong grief, saying, "I'm 72 years old, and I still miss my daddy," as he recalled his mother telling him, "Baby, they give your father the electric chair for something he didn't do."
Joseph Parker offered condolences and emphasised the importance of learning from this tragedy. He told commissioners, "I hope that Walker's exoneration will help prevent wrongful convictions in the future. It is necessary that we learn to try not to make the same mistake again. The mistake being what? The mistake being the injustice, the taking of an innocent life."
Journalist Mary Mapes, who began investigating Walker's case 13 years ago, was credited for her pivotal role in uncovering the truth. She stated, "He paid with his life for a crime he could not have committed."
A Symbolic Resolution
At the conclusion of the meeting, Dallas County Commissioners unanimously passed a symbolic resolution declaring that Walker was wrongfully convicted and executed, describing what happened to him as "a profound miscarriage of justice." This exoneration serves as a stark reminder of the deep-seated racial biases that once permeated the legal system and highlights ongoing efforts to address historical injustices.
The case underscores the critical need for continued scrutiny of past convictions, particularly those from eras marked by systemic racism, to ensure that such grave errors are not repeated in the future.
