Henry Wade

Henry Wade
Photo of Henry Wade
Dallas County District Attorney
In office
1951 – January 1988
Preceded byWill Wilson
Succeeded byJohn Vance
Personal details
Born
Henry Menasco Wade[1]

(1914-11-11)November 11, 1914
Rockwall County, Texas, U.S.
DiedMarch 1, 2001(2001-03-01) (aged 86)[1]
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of Texas[2]
OccupationLawyer
Known forProsecution of Jack Ruby
Roe v. Wade

Henry Menasco Wade (November 11, 1914 – March 1, 2001) was an American lawyer who served as district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987. He participated in two notable U.S. court cases of the 20th century: the prosecution of Jack Ruby for killing Lee Harvey Oswald, and the U.S. Supreme Court case that held abortion was a constitutional right, Roe v. Wade. In addition, Wade was district attorney when Randall Dale Adams, the subject of the 1988 documentary film The Thin Blue Line, was wrongfully convicted in the murder of Robert Wood, a Dallas police officer.

  1. ^ a b Wolfgang Saxon (March 2, 2001). "Henry Wade, Prosecutor in National Spotlight, Dies at 86". New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  2. ^ "Henry Wade Biography". Archived from the original on October 15, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2010.