Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

located in

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Institutions Division of the

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 jails ...

. The facility, the oldest Texas state prison, opened in 1849. The unit houses the

execution chamber An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a prison#Security levels, maximum-security prison, although not always at the same p ...

of the State of Texas. It is the most active execution chamber in the United States, with 595 (as of May 20, 2025) executions since 1982, when the death penalty was reinstated in Texas (see

Lists of people executed in Texas A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...

History

Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville prison yard in 1870s

The prison's first inmates arrived on October 2, 1849.Hollister, Stacy.
Texas Tidbits
" ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

''. July 2002. Retrieved on July 3, 2010. The unit was named after the County of Huntsville. Robert Perkinson, the author of '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire'', wrote that the unit was, within Texas, "the first public work of any importance".Roth, Mitchel P.
''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire'' (review)

. ''

Southwestern Historical Quarterly The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

'', 2011, Vol.115(1), pp.106-107 eer Reviewed Journal- Available at Project MUSE. Originally Huntsville Unit was only for white Texans; the only penalties available to black Texans were whipping and hanging. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, prisoners at Huntsville produced tents and uniforms for Confederate forces at the prison textile factory. After the Civil War ended, Huntsville Unit was the only prison in the former

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

to remain. Perkinson stated that the prison became, within the state, the "first racially integrated public institution". Originally women in the Texas Prison System were housed in the Huntsville Unit.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. The company publishes in the fields of American ...

, 2010. p
93
. "Conditions at the Walls provoked criticism as well, particularly with respect to female prisoners." Beginning in 1883 women were housed in the Johnson Farm, a privately owned cotton plantation near Huntsville.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010. p
132
. During this time there was some concern that "immoral practices may be resorted to" in regards to the female prisoners.The Texas State Library and Archives. Fear Force and Leather: The Texas Prison System's First Hundred Years, 1848-1948

Historically the prison served as the administrative headquarters of the Texas Prison System and the Texas Department of Corrections; the superintendent and the other executive officers worked in the prison, and all of the central offices of the system's departments and all of the permanent records were located in the prison. In 1934

John Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess ...

and

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

recorded the earliest known recording of "

This Little Light of Mine "This Little Light of Mine" is a Gospel music, gospel song that originated in the 1920s, when it was first sung in Christian churches and penitentiaries. The hymn is often attributed to evangelist Harry Dixon Loes who is said to have written it ...

" when they recorded Jim Boyd of

Jacksonville, Texas Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County. Ja ...

, singing at prison. In 1965, the men's death row moved to the

Ellis Unit O. B. Ellis Unit (E1, previously Ellis I Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated area, unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville, Texas, Huntsville. The unit, with about of space,‌ now h ...

. In 1974, the prison was the site of an eleven-day siege, one of the longest hostage-taking sieges in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

history.Blood Hostages
, ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', August 12, 1974. Retrieved on 2008-07-13. Three armed inmates, Fred Carrasco, Ignacio Cuevas, and Rudy Dominquez, held several hostages in the education department. The ringleader, Fred Carrasco, had been a porter in the chapel. Cuevas usually worked in the inmate dining hall. Ten hostages were employees of the prison system: two were educators, and one was a guard. Later on, the prison chaplain became a hostage. Four prisoners were held as hostages. On the final day, the inmates tried to escape using chalkboards and hostages as shields.''Warden'' by Jim Willett and Ron Rozelle Dominquez was killed in the attempt. Carrasco killed Elizabeth Beseda and then shot himself. Julia Standley was also killed that day. Ignacio Cuevas was executed on May 23, 1991 for her murder.

Facility

While the prison is officially the Huntsville Unit, the prison's red brick walls led to the nickname "Walls Unit." The prison is southeast of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and north of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. The original cellblock had been closed for several years prior to 2011. The electric chair was previously in a building adjacent to the institution's east wall. When the

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 executio ...

was in Huntsville, it was in the East Building.

Operations

The warden of the Huntsville Unit is in charge of the maintenance of the

Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery The Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery is the main prison cemetery in Texas, located in Huntsville and operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The cemetery is colloquially known as Peckerwood Hill. The name originates from "Peckerwoo ...

, the TDCJ prisoner cemetery.Eternity's gate slowly closing at Peckerwood Hill
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, 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''. ...

''. August 3, 2012. Retrieved on March 16, 2014. Prisoners from this unit are assigned to maintain the cemetery.Ross, Robyn.
Laid to Rest in Huntsville
() ''

Texas Observer ''The Texas Observer'' (also known as the ''Observer'') is an American magazine with a liberal political outlook. The ''Observer'' is published bimonthly by a 501(c)(3)Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

, will remain the TDCJ's largest release center.New regional release centers now operating across state
."

. September–October 2010. Retrieved on March 1, 2011. Throughout the history of the Texas Prison System 90% of male prisoners were sent to the unit for the final portions of their sentences before being released. Starting in September 2010 the TDCJ instead began to use regional release centers for male prisoners.

Death penalty

The Huntsville Unit is the location of the State of Texas

. The TDCJ generally houses male death row inmates in the

Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, Texas, West Livingston, unincorporated area, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston, Texas, Living ...

(formerly Terrell Unit) and female death row inmates in the Patrick O'Daniel Unit (formerly Mountain View Unit).Death Row Facts
." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. Between 1819 and 1923 the method of execution was hanging until Texas authorized the use of the electric chair; the use of the electric chair ended the execution of death sentences by counties in Texas. The chair—often euphemistically called "

Old Sparky Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Old Betsy was the nickname of the electric c ...

"—was constructed by inmates. Between 1924 and 1964, 362 inmates were executed by electrocution. The chair now resides at the Texas Prison Museum, located on

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...

on the north side of Huntsville which features displays of historical items from the prison system, including shanks and other items confiscated from inmates. On one occasion the prison used a facility below the current warden's office as a death row for women. Emma "Straight Eight" Oliver, the first female death row inmate under Texas state jurisdiction, was sentenced to death in 1949. In 1951 her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Subsequently the Goree Unit and then the O'Daniel Unit were used as women's death rows.

Execution procedure

Inmates scheduled for execution are brought from death row on the Polunsky Unit to the Huntsville Unit early in the afternoon of their execution. Unlike other states, Texas has ended in 2011 the custom of personalized last meals after the privilege was repeatedly violated by convicts and their victims were not entitled to them. Inmates may, but are not required to, make their closing remarks prior to execution. By law, executions are to be held after 6:00 p.m. Huntsville (Central) time. Until that time, the condemned inmates are housed about from the door of the execution chamber. The Texas Death House is located at the northeast corner of the Huntsville Unit, just below the #1 picket. No law prohibits multiple executions in a single day, but this has not happened since August 2000. The execution chamber is a by room, with

mint green Spring Green or spring green may refer to: Colors * Spring green ** Spring bud, formerly known as spring green Plants * Spring greens, edible young leaves of certain plants * Spring greens (Brassica oleracea), vegetables Places in the United S ...

-painted walls and a

gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

. When Jim Willett was warden of Huntsville Unit, he added a pillow to the gurney. Texas uses a single lethal dose of

pentobarbital Pentobarbital (US) or pentobarbitone (British and Australian) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of insomnia but ...

to execute condemned inmates. Two adjacent rooms, which allow viewing into the execution room through glass windows, are for two groups. One room is reserved for witnesses from among the family and friends of the crime victim(s), while the other is for the family and friends of the condemned.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010. p
40
.

Notable inmates

This list does not include death row inmates who were only housed in other units (Ellis, Polunsky, and/or O'Daniel) and executed in Huntsville on the days of their executions. For people held at Huntsville Unit only for execution, see

. Current: *

Buck Barrow Marvin Ivan "Buck" Barrow (March 14, 1903 – July 29, 1933) was a member of the Barrow Gang. He was the older brother of the gang's leader, Clyde Barrow. He and his wife, Blanche, were wounded in a gun battle with police four months after th ...

Barrow Gang The Barrow Gang was an American gang active between 1932 and 1934. They were well known outlaws, robbers, murderers, and criminals who, as a gang, traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known all over t ...

George Hassell George Jefferson Hassell (July 5, 1888 – February 10, 1928) was an American serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source o ...

: Huntsville Unit Death Row, Executed in February 1928. *

W. D. Jones William Daniel ("W.D.", "Bud", "Deacon") Jones (May 12, 1916 – August 20, 1974) was a member of the Barrow Gang, whose spree throughout the southern Midwestern United States, Midwest in the early years of the Great Depression became part of Am ...

, 6 years at Huntsville

Cultural references

* "Huntsville", a song on Merle Haggard's 1971 album, '' Someday We'll Look Back'' references being sent to Huntsville Prison. * '' The Getaway'', a 1972

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Instit ...

film, which starred

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

, was filmed here. *

Cross Canadian Ragweed Cross Canadian Ragweed is an American country and rock band formed in Yukon, Oklahoma in 1994. The original members of the band is how the name was formed. Cross- Grady Cross, Canadian- Cody Canada, Rag- Randy Ragsdale, Weed- Matt Wiedemann. The ...

has a song that is about the prison called "Walls of Huntsville" on their 2002 self-titled album. *

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

recorded "Ellis Unit One" (after the

) 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. *

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

portrayed the convict Butch Haynes in the 1993 film ''

A Perfect World ''A Perfect World'' is a 1993 American thriller crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy ( T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwo ...

'', who escaped from Huntsville Prison. *

Texas Country Texas country music (more popularly known just as Texas country or Texas music) is a subgenre of country music from Texas. Texas country is a style of Western music and is often associated with other distinct neighboring styles, including Red D ...

artist

Cody Johnson Cody Daniel Johnson (born May 21, 1987) is an American country music singer. He has self-released six albums, including ''Gotta Be Me'', which debuted at number two on ''Billboard''s Country Albums chart, before releasing his first major-label ...

refers to the prison in his song "Texas Kind of Way", with the lyric "might as well just lock me up in Huntsville, if your memory's here to stay". * In the 2007 film ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin ...

'', it was mentioned that the Sheriff in

Terrell County, Texas Terrell County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 760, making it the seventh-least populous county in Texas, and the 37th-least populous county in the nation. Its county seat is the census-desi ...

had sentenced a man to death in the Huntsville Unit for killing a 14-year-old girl. * Subject of a song by country singer

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City", and " 500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Earl ...

- "Back Home In Huntsville Again" * In

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's ''

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel ''Rum Punch'' by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United Sta ...

'', the characters played by Samuel L. Jackson and

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

first met while doing time in Huntsville. * In the 2003 video game ''

Freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

'', the LPI ''Huntsville'' is a prison ship orbiting Houston planet in the Texas system. *

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. He ini ...

refers to the "Huntsville prison walls so high" in his song "Houston, Dallas, San Antone". *The 2003 film, ''

The Life of David Gale ''The Life of David Gale'' is a 2003 crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Alan Parker, written by Charles Randolph, co-produced by Nicolas Cage, and starring Kevin Spacey as the title character, a college professor and longtime acti ...

'', was shot in multiple places, including Huntsville, Texas. In the film, Kevin Spacey played the eponymous character, a college professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent. *

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

's 2011 documentary '' Into the Abyss'', follows the execution of Jason Burkett which took place in the Huntsville unit. It features numerous shots of the chamber and describes the execution process. * Jason Boland & The Stragglers released a song off 2015 CD ''Squelch'' titled "Christmas in Huntsville".

Footnotes

External links

Huntsville Unit
-

*
Texas Prison Board: An Inventory of Records of the Texas Prison System at the Texas State Archive 1913-1933, 1943, undated

List of prisoners at the Huntsville Unit
-

The Texas Tribune ''The Texas Tribune'' is a nonprofit politics and public policy news website headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. Its stated aim is to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events. ''The Texas T ...

Texas Prison Museum
*
Inside Death Row
" -

National Geographic Explorer ''National Geographic Explorer'' (or simply ''Explorer'') is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's '' ...

{{Huntsville, Texas 1849 establishments in Texas Prisons in Huntsville, Texas Women's prisons in Texas Capital punishment in Texas Execution sites in the United States