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Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or
Huntsville Unit (HV) is a Texas
state prison located in Huntsville,
Texas, United States. The facility is operated
by the Correctional Institutions Division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice, administered as within Region I.[1] The
facility is the oldest Texas state prison, and opened in 1849.
History
Although Texas' execution chamber is located at the
facility, unlike similar facilities in other states, death row is not located
here. Death row (males only) was located here from 1928 to 1965,
when they were moved to the nearby Ellis Unit. Escapes from the Ellis Unit led
the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice to relocate death row in 1999 to the Polunsky Unit, where it currently remains.
The female death row is located at the Mountain View
Unit in Gatesville.
In 1974, the prison was the site of an eleven-day siege, one of
the longest hostage-taking sieges in United States history.[2]
The Huntsville Unit is also known informally as the
Walls Unit for its large brick walls around the
prison.[3] The
prison itself serves as a pre-release facility that all persons
incarcerated must go to before they are released.
Death
Penalty
Between 1819 and 1923 the method of execution was hanging until
Texas authorized the use of the electric chair. The chair–"Old
Sparky" was constructed by inmates.[4] Between
1924 and 1964, 362 inmates were executed by electrocution. The
chair now resides at the Texas Prison Museum, located on Interstate 45 on
the north side of Huntsville which features displays of historical
items from the prison system, including shanks and other items
confiscated from inmates.
Notable
inmates
Cultural
references
"Huntsville", a song on Merle Haggard's 1971 album, Someday We'll Look Back
references being sent to Huntsville Prison.
Cross Canadian Ragweed has a
song about the prison called "Walls of Huntsville" on their 2002
album Cross Canadian
Ragweed.
Steve Earle
recorded "Ellis Unit One" for the 1995 film Dead Man
Walking. The songs lyrics focus on the effect of the death
penalty on the guards that carry it out. Earle has been a vocal
critic against the death penalty.
In the 2008 film No
Country for Old Men, it was mentioned that the Sheriff in
Terrell County, Texas had
sentenced a man to death here for killing a 14 year old girl.
See also
External
links
[1]
Cite error:
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