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Welcome to The Texas Tribune’s “Texplainer” series, where we answer questions from readers like you. More in this series

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 above to learn more โ€” or read our related coverage below.

 Learn about The Texas Tribuneโ€™s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

Hannah Wiley was a reporting fellow for The Texas Tribune in 2018, covering issues surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border. She graduated with her MSJ in 2018 from Northwestern University's Medill School of...