Black teenager convicted and executed for white woman's murder finally exonerated over 7 decades later

Tommy Lee Walker's son Edward (Ted) Smith was moved to tears as the court announced that his late father had been exonerated several decades after his death.

On January 21, the Dallas County Commissioners Court declared Walker innocent of rape and murder.

When he was just 19 years old, Walker was arrested for the rape and murder of 31-year-old Venice Parker. The fateful night unfolded on September 30, 1953, and Walker had hitched a ride home from work since he didn't have his own car.

After spending some time with friends at Exall Park, he went to see Mary Louise Smith, his girlfriend, who was nine months pregnant. Their son Ted was born the following morning, but he never had the relationship with his son he should have because he was wrongfully arrested.

Tommy Lee Walker was just 19 years old when he was arrested (Dallas County DA)

It was few months after Ted's birth and the murder of Parker when a 'unsubstantiated tip' came in to police that identified Walker as a suspect.

While Walker said he was with his girlfriend during the birth of their son at his trial — something which was backed up by 10 witnesses, says the Innocence Project — the all-white jury proceeded to convict the young father of Parker's murder.

He was handed the death penalty and was executed by electric chair in 1956. He used his final words to maintain his innocence.

Now, 70 years on from his death and it has been ruled that Walker was in fact innocent of the crimes he was convicted of.

The ruling comes after a years-long joint reinvestigation by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, the Innocence Project, and the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) at Northeastern University School of Law.

Ultimately it was found that Walker's arrest and conviction were 'fun­da­men­tal­ly com­pro­mised by false or unre­li­able evi­dence, coer­cive inter­ro­ga­tion tac­tics, and racial bias', the Death Penalty Information Center reports.

Ted Smith seen speaking to Venice Parker's son, Joseph Parker (Dallas County DA)

Speaking after the ruling, Chris Fabricant, one of Ted's Innocence Project attorneys, said: "The court’s declaration today provides some semblance of belated justice to Mr. Walker’s legacy, and to his son, our client Edward Smith.

"Mr. Smith has carried the generational trauma of the irreparable injustice his father faced at the hands of the State. Acknowledging what we know to be truth — that false evidence, misconduct, and overt racism led to the execution of an innocent man — albeit 70 years later, is essential to the integrity of our legal system, the historical fabric of this country, and most importantly it is an acknowledgment of the unspeakable burden Mr. Smith and his family have carried for decades.

"We are thankful to District Attorney Creuzot and the Dallas County Commissioners for their willingness to formally recognize this gross and unforgivable miscarriage of justice."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Racial Equity Support Line on 503-575-3764, available weekdays from 10am to 7pm PT. Or via the Lines for Life Equity Team at [email protected].