Statement from family of Tommy Lee Walker and the Innocence Project on Dallas County’s Decision to Rename the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center in Honor of Tommy Lee Walker
“For my whole life, I knew my father was innocent. Seeing his name on this building means the world knows it too,” said Edward Smith, Mr. Walker’s son.
11.12.26 By Innocence Staff
Tommy Lee Walker (1935–1956) — A 19-year-old Black man and new father, Walker was convicted in 1954 of killing Venice Lorraine Parker near Love Field in Dallas and executed in 1956. He was posthumously exonerated on January 21, 2026, by the Dallas County Commissioners Court following a joint reinvestigation by Dallas County’s Conviction Integrity Unit, the Innocence Project, and the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project that found egregious constitutional violations.
Credit: Image courtesy of the Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas Public Library.
Last week, the Dallas County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to rename the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center in honor of Tommy Lee Walker. Nearly 70 years ago, Mr. Walker was wrongly executed for a crime he did not commit, prosecuted under then-Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade.
In 1954, an all-white jury convicted Mr. Walker of a murder he did not commit. In 1956, at just 21 years old, he was executed. He maintained his innocence until his death.
Seventy years later, in January, Dallas County posthumously declared Mr. Walker innocent following a joint reinvestigation by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, the Innocence Project, and the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University School of Law. Removing Henry Wade’s name from a building that holds young people, and replacing it with Mr. Walker’s, is another step toward historical accountability.
“For my whole life, I knew my father was innocent. Seeing his name on this building means the world knows it too. Our family is grateful to Dallas County for doing what’s right, and to everyone who fought alongside my family to get here,” said Edward Smith, Mr. Walker’s son.
“Tommy Lee Walker was executed for a crime he did not commit. Nothing can change that or return what was taken from his son, Edward Smith, who waited a lifetime for the truth to be acknowledged. But putting Mr. Walker’s name on this building is a public reckoning with what happened, and a promise that those who pass through its doors will know his story,” said Chris Fabricant, director of strategic litigation at the Innocence Project and one of Mr. Smith’s attorneys.
We honor Mr. Walker’s son, Edward Smith, and the entire Walker family, who carried the weight of this injustice for generations and never stopped insisting on the truth and hope this is one step toward a justice system that is fair and equitable for everyone.
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