More than 72 percent of those on death row in Texas are people of color.
Studies show race plays a role in the state's harshest punishment.
Studies have shown that Texas prosecutors chose to pursue the death penalty more often when a defendant was black than if a defendant was white.
And while black Texans might be overrepresented on death row, past investigations have shown they were often underrepresented in jury pools.
Education publisher Pearson talked to The Texas Tribune and explained how race can factor into Texas death penalty cases.
Watch the Pearson video below to learn more.
- The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Texas death row inmate Duane Buck, agreeing that his case was prejudiced by an expert trial witness who claimed Buck was more likely to be a future danger
because he is black.
- In multiple last-minute appeals, this 64-year-old death row inmate claimed his sentencing trial in the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend was tainted by
racial prejudice.
Source: texastribune.org, Hannah Wiley, December 21, 2018
⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us:
deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.
Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
