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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Juan A. Lozano

Man executed nearly 70 years ago in case marked by racial bias finally exonerated

Joseph Parker Texas John Creuzot Dallas the Innocence Project
This photo provided by the Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas Public Library shows Tommy Lee Walker, a Black man from Texas, who was executed by electric chair in May 1956 for the rape and murder of 31-year-old Venice Parker - (Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas Public Library via AP)

A Black man executed in Texas almost 70 years ago for the murder and rape of a white woman has been posthumously declared innocent, with prosecutors now acknowledging the case was built on false evidence and steeped in racial bias.

Tommy Lee Walker was sent to the electric chair in May 1956 for the killing of 31-year-old Venice Parker in Dallas. During his trial, prosecutors alleged Walker attacked Ms Parker, a shop assistant returning home, on the evening of 30 September 1953.

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