Executed
Tommy Lee Walker
Tommy Lee Walker was a 21-year-old Black man who was executed in the electric chair in Texas on May 12, 1956. His son, Ted Smith, said his father told the family he was innocent until the end, and that his mother never recovered after the execution. In 2026 Dallas County officials formally exonerated Tommy Lee Walker, finding that a confession obtained from him was coerced and that his trial was unfair. Ted Smith, now 72, testified at the posthumous exoneration hearing.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Dallas County officials later exonerated him, finding his confession was coerced and his trial unfair, and his son Ted Smith says he maintained his innocence until the end.