O. B. Ellis Unit (E1, previously Ellis I Unit) is a

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...

prison located in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Walker County, Texas Walker County is a county located in the east central section of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 76,400. Its county seat is Huntsville. Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator fr ...

, north of

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...

. The unit, with about of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners."Ellis Unit"
.

. Retrieved January 8, 2014. Ellis is situated in a wooded area shared with the

Estelle Unit W. J. "Jim" Estelle Unit
."

Ward, Mike
"Hunt is on for escaped killer"
''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

''. June 29, 1999. A1. Retrieved November 27, 2010. From 1965 to 1999 it was the location of the State of Texas men's

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ( ...

History

The unit opened in July 1965. It was named after Oscar B. Ellis, a former prison director of Texas.

George Beto George John Beto (January 19, 1916 – December 4, 1991) was a director of the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), a criminal justice expert in penology, a professor, and a Lutheran minister. He was previously the president of Concordia Luthe ...

designed the unit, making it to be the strictest prison in the system, and Jim Estelle, the following prison director, continued the course of action Beto established.Turner, Allan
"Author revisits Texas prisons brutality case"
''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. December 10, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011. From 1965 to 1999 the unit housed the male

, which had moved from

Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional ...

."Death Row Facts"
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved May 7, 2010. Michael Berryhill, an author, said "You had the toughest convicts, and the general philosophy was you needed the toughest warden. Wallace Pack was assigned to keep the lid on Ellis. The inmates in the prison were restless. There were work stoppages and strikes, and with Judge Justice's opinion, there was an air of expectancy that the brutality and terrible conditions would end." The book '' In This Timeless Time'' includes content about the unit's death row. In April 1981, Eroy Brown, a prisoner who had been convicted of armed robbery and burglary, drowned Wallace Pack, the warden, and shot Billy Moore, the unit's farm manager, during a struggle for Pack's gun. Brown said that they were planning to kill him since he was going to expose a prison theft scheme. Thirty-five of 36 jurors voted in Brown's favor. After a prisoner named

Rodney Hulin Rodney may refer to: People * Rodney (name) * Rodney (wrestler), American professional wrestler Places ;Australia * Electoral district of Rodney, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rodney County, Queensland ;Canada * Rodney, Ontario, a vil ...

fatally injured himself at the

Clemens Unit Clemens Unit (CN) is a prison farm of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas, in Greater Houston. The prison, with about , is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2004 and Texas State ...

, he was transferred to the

Hospital Galveston Unit A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergenc ...

and then the Ellis Unit. Hulin died in the Ellis Unit in 1997.Berryhill, Michael. "What Really Happened To Rodeny Hulin?" ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. August 7, 1997
7
Retrieved January 17, 2010. In November 1998,''Texas Department of Criminal Justice''. Turner Publishing Company, 2004
103
, . six condemned men were absent from their cells for several hours and then coordinated an escape attempt."Prisoners at new Death Row unit face increased isolation Inmates caged 'like animals waiting for slaughter,' activist says"
''

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carter ...

''. February 28, 2000. 1 News. Retrieved May 7, 2010. One of the men, Martin Gurule (TDCJ# 999063), successfully escaped and was later found dead in a location near the prison grounds.Staff and Wire Reports
"Death-row inmates take officer hostage Warden negotiates with prisoners"
''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''The Galves ...

''. February 22, 2000. Retrieved May 7, 2010. "He was later found dead near the prison, but his escape hastened the decision to house death-row inmates at Terrell Unit, prison officials have said." TDCJ officials said that he drowned on the day of his escape. According to the TDCJ, the prison escape attempt had hastened the agency's decision to move death row inmates to a new location. TDCJ officials also stated that overcrowding at Ellis was another factor in the death row move."Prison board OKs moving death row"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

at the ''

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Lubbock Avalanche'' was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" ...

''. May 22, 1999. Retrieved March 24, 2016. Six months after the escape attempt, the TDCJ decided to move the death row. The Texas Board of Criminal Justice approved the relocation of the men's death row on Friday May 21, 1999. In 1999 the male death row was relocated to the

Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. - Note the 2010 U.S. Cen ...

(originally known as the Terrell Unit) in

West Livingston, Texas West Livingston is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Polk County, Texas, United States, located along the eastern shore of Lake Livingston west of central Livingston."First condemned inmates moved to new death row near Livingston"

at ''

Lubbock Journal-Avalanche ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Lubbock Avalanche'' was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" ...

''. June 19, 1999. Retrieved March 24, 2016. The death row transfer, which took ten months, was the largest transfer of condemned prisoners in history and was performed under heavy security. In 2011 the Ellis Unit furniture and wood plant was moved to the

Lewis Unit Gib Lewis Unit a.k.a. Lewis Unit is a Texas state prison located approximately one mile east of Woodville, Texas, United States. The prison is located on approximately 360 acres and is operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correc ...

Facilities

It has a capacity of about 2,000 prisoners. the prison sometimes had temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit since there were no tempered air systems nor air conditioner units.

Death row

When the unit housed the male death row, condemned inmates worked in a garment factory, played basketball, assisted each other with legal work, and worshiped together. The prison guards allowed other offenders to gather and say goodbye to a death row inmate on the night before his execution. According to death row offender Jonathan Bruce Reed (Texas Department of Criminal Justice Death Row #642, now TDCJ#1743674 due to a reduction of the sentence to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed te ...

on November 3, 2011), the attitude of the death row was "We can afford you some sort of reasonable life—within security confines" and that death row inmates "lived as humans". Reed said that condemned inmates sometimes violated the rules by smoking, getting tattoos, making wine, and engaging in sexual intercourse with other inmates and officers. Privileges decreased as years passed.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

Metropolitan Books Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...

, 2010. p
38
. The cells at Ellis's death row had bars on them. Sometimes there were two death row inmates per cell. Inmates were permitted to watch televisions located in the facility.

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

recorded "Ellis Unit One" for the 1995 film '' Dead Man Walking''. The song's 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.

Notable prisoners

Death row prisoners

Former Texas-sentenced inmates (all death row inmates on this list had been transferred to

in 1999, commuted, released, and/or executed) *

Charles Brooks Jr. Charles Brooks Jr. (September 1, 1942 – December 7, 1982), also known as Shareef Ahmad Abdul-Rahim, was a convicted murderer who was the first person to be executed using lethal injection. He was the first prisoner executed in Texas since 1964, ...

(executed December 7, 1982) * Peter Cantu (perpetrator of the murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña) transferred to Polunsky Unit, executed August 17, 2010 *Ignacio Cuevas (perpetrator of the

1974 Huntsville Prison Siege The 1974 Huntsville Prison siege was an eleven-day prison uprising that took place from July 24 to August 3, 1974, at the Huntsville Walls Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections in Huntsville, Texas. The standoff was one of the longest hosta ...

) - executed May 23, 1991 *

Carlos DeLuna Carlos DeLuna (; March 15, 1962 – December 7, 1989) was an American man who was convicted of murder and executed by the State of Texas for killing Wanda Lopez, a 24-year-old gas station attendant in Corpus Christi, on the evening of Febr ...

- executed December 7, 1989 * Jeffrey Dillingham - perpetrator of the

murder of Caren Koslow On March 12, 1992, in the Rivercrest area of Fort Worth, Texas, intruders attacked Jack Koslow and Caren Courtney Koslow, a husband and wife, in their house. Caren Koslow's throat was slashed, killing her, while Jack escaped the house and surviv ...

, transferred to Polunsky,"Jeffrey Dillingham"
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved July 17, 2016. executed November 1, 2000 * Kenneth Foster - transferred to Polunsky, sentence commuted to life in prison *

Gustavo Julian Garcia Gustavo Julian Garcia Jr.Wigglesworth, Valerie. ''The Dallas Morning News'archive February 16, 2016; retrieved February 20, 2016. (September 27, 1972"garciagustavo.jpg"
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved February 18, 2016. executed February 16, 2016 *

Humberto Leal Garcia Humberto Leal García Jr. (January 16, 1973 – July 7, 2011) was a Mexican national who was sentenced to death in the US state of Texas for the May 21, 1994, rape, torture, and murder of Adria Sauceda in San Antonio. Despite calls from US Pre ...

- transferred to Polunsky Unit, executed July 7, 2011. *

Johnny Frank Garrett Johnny Frank Garrett (December 24, 1963 – February 11, 1992) was a death row prisoner executed by the State of Texas. Includes scan of original inmate record cover page. Murder of Benz Garrett was accused of the murder of a Catholic nun that ...

- executed February 11, 1992 * Gary Graham a.k.a. Shaka Sankofa - moved to Polunsky, executed June 22, 2000 *

Anthony Charles Graves Anthony Charles Graves (born August 29, 1965) is the 138th exonerated death row inmate in America. With no record of violence, he was arrested at 26 years old, wrongfully convicted, and incarcerated for 18 years before finally being exonerated a ...

- moved to Polunsky, later exonerated *

Jesús Ledesma Aguilar Jesús Ledesma Aguilar (November 28, 1963 – May 24, 2006) was a Mexican national who became the 365th person executed by the U.S. state of Texas. His execution sparked an international incident between the United States and Mexico, which led to ...

- executed May 24, 2006. *

Kenneth McDuff Kenneth Allen McDuff (March 21, 1946 – November 17, 1998) was an American serial killer. He was convicted in 1966 of murdering 16-year-old Edna Sullivan, her boyfriend, 17-year-old Robert Brand, and Brand's cousin, 15-year-old Mark Dunnam, w ...

(TDCJ#999055, executed November 17, 1998) *

José Medellín José Ernesto Medellín Rojas (March 4, 1975 – August 5, 2008), born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, was a Mexican national who was executed by lethal injection for the murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña in Houston, Texas. Medellín wa ...

(perpetrator of the murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña) - transferred to Polunsky Unit, executed August 5, 2008 * Derrick Sean O'Brien (perpetrator of the murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña) - transferred to Polunsky Unit, executed July 11, 2006 *

Ronald Clark O'Bryan Ronald Clark O'Bryan (October 19, 1944 – March 31, 1984), nicknamed The Candy Man and The Man Who Killed Halloween, was an American man convicted of killing his eight-year-old son Timothy (April 5, 1966 – October 31, 1974) on Halloween 1974 ...

- executed March 30, 1984 *

Genaro Ruiz Camacho Genaro Ruiz Camacho, Jr. (September 14, 1954 – August 26, 1998), aka Geno Camacho, was a cannabis dealer and organized crime leader in Texas who was linked to four murders and eventually executed by the state of Texas. Crime On May 20, 1988, ...

- executed August 26, 1998 *

Hank Skinner Henry Watkins Skinner (April 4, 1962 – February 16, 2023) was an American death row inmate in Texas. In 1995, he was convicted of bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend, Twila Busby, and stabbing to death her two adult sons, Randy Busby a ...

- transferred to Polunsky Unit *

Edgar Tamayo Edgar Tamayo Arias (July 22, 1967Edgar Arias Tamayo
"

- transferred to Polunsky, executed January 22, 2014 "Edgar Arias Tamayo"
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved April 21, 2016. *

Shannon Charles Thomas Keith Bernard Clay (February 18, 1968 – March 20, 2003) and Shannon Charles Thomas (July 27, 1971 – November 16, 2005) were American murderers who killed a total of four people between December 1993 and January 1994. Thomas was convicted of ...

- transferred to Polunsky Unit, executed November 16, 2005 *

Pablo Lucio Vasquez Pablo Lucio Vasquez (August 11, 1977
"

"Vasquez, Pablo Lucio"
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved April 10, 2016. - transferred to Polunsky, executed April 6, 2016 * Coy Wesbrook - moved to Polunsky, executed March 9, 2016 *

Marvin Lee Wilson Marvin Lee Wilson (January 5, 1958 – August 7, 2012) was executed by the State of Texas on August 7, 2012, despite experts finding his IQ was 61. Supreme Court rulings subsequent to his execution in 2014 (Hall v. Florida) and 2017 (Moore v. ...

- moved to Polunsky executed August 7, 2012 *

Cameron Todd Willingham Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Since Willingha ...

- transferred to Polunsky Unit, executed February 17, 2004."Executed Offenders"
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved July 23, 2010. Former federal-sentenced inmates: *

Juan Garza Juan Raul Garza (November 18, 1956 – June 19, 2001) was an American murderer and drug lord who was executed by the United States federal government for three drug-related murders. In addition, Garza was linked to at least five other drug-r ...

- on July 13, 1999, federal authorities moved Garza, who had committed the crime in Texas but was under a federal death sentence, out of the custody of the TDCJ and into

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

(BOP) custody."Offenders No Longer on Death Row"
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved August 22, 2010. Garza was one of three condemned inmates moved from the Texas state male death row on that day due to the opening of the new federal death row wing in

USP Terre Haute The United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute (USP Terre Haute) is a maximum-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Terre Haute, Indiana. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute (FCC Terre Haute) and is opera ...

, Terre Haute, Indiana. (executed in Terre Haute June 19, 2001) * Louis Jones Jr. (transferred to BOP custody) executed in 2003

Non-death row prisoners

Former inmates: * David Graham, perpetrator of the

murder of Adrianne Jones Diane Michelle Zamora (born January 21, 1978) is a former United States Naval Academy midshipman and convicted murderer who, in 1995, murdered Adrianne Jessica Jones, who she believed was a romantic rival for her ex-fiancé and accomplice, David ...

"Famous Crimes: The Texas Cadet Murder case"
''

''. December 4, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2016. *

Christopher Duntsch Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971) is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death for gross malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients' spines and two deaths while working at hospitals in ...

, Dallas neurosurgeon who is the subject of the ''Dr. Death'' podcast.

References

External links

Ellis Unit
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice
List of prisoners in the Ellis Unit
- ''

The Texas Tribune ''The Texas Tribune'' is a news website headquartered in Austin, Texas. It aims to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events. Its website and content in various delivery platforms serve as an alternati ...

''. * Stein, Joel (December 14, 1998)
"Rooting for the Death-Row Fugitive Guy"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

''. * Dart, Tom (December 2, 2014)
"Sane enough for Texas: the Lone Star State's history of executing mentally ill inmates"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''. This article shows an image of the former men's death row at Ellis. {{Huntsville, Texas Prisons in Walker County, Texas Capital punishment in Texas 1965 establishments in Texas