The John B. Connally Unit is a maximum-security prison for males located in unincorporated

Karnes County, Texas Karnes County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,710. Its county seat is Karnes City. The county is named for Henry Karnes, a soldier in the Texas Revolution. The former San Antonio and Aran ...

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 ...

. It is located on Farm to Market Road 632, just east of U.S. Highway 181 south of the city of Kenedy,Connally Unit
"

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 ...

. Retrieved on May 10, 2010. and southeast of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. The prison, with about of space, is operated by the Correctional Institutions Division of the

, administered as within Region IV. The unit is named for former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and

United States Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

John B. Connally, Jr.

History

The prison opened in July 1995. On December 13, 2000, the prison became infamous after seven inmates staged an elaborate breakout that was successful; this group later became known as the Texas Seven. During the subsequent crime spree, the seven fugitives killed a police officer in Irving. Six of the inmates were later recaptured in January 2001, while the seventh committed suicide before being captured; the six who were recaptured were sentenced to death.The Escape
" ''The Daring Escape of the Texas 7''. Crime Library. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.

Notable inmates

* The Texas Seven, who escaped in December 2000, and caused the death of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins during a robbery. One of them committed suicide while on the run; the others were recaptured, tried, and convicted of the Hawkins murder, all being sentenced to death. As of December 2018, the two surviving members of the seven are incarcerated in the

Allan B. 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. C ...

. ** Joseph C. Garcia (executed December 4, 2018) ** Randy Ethan Halprin ** Larry James Harper (committed suicide while on the run) ** Patrick Henry Murphy, Jr. ** Donald Keith Newbury (executed February 2, 2015) ** George Rivas (ringleader, executed February 29, 2012) ** Michael Anthony Rodriguez (declined appeals beyond mandatory, executed August 14, 2008) * Carlton Dotson, former

Baylor Bears basketball The Baylor Bears men's basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Bears compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team played its home games in Ferrell Center from 1988 until 20 ...

player who pleaded guilty to the

murder of Patrick Dennehy The murder of Patrick Dennehy, an American college basketball player for Baylor University, occurred on June 12, 2003, when he was shot by teammate Carlton Dotson. The murder set off a chain of events which led to a broader scandal in which Baylo ...

, his teammate * Bernie Tiede, mortician and convicted murderer who was the subject of the 2011 film '' Bernie'' *Raymond Ayala, Houston, Texas rapper better known as “Lil Bing”, convicted murder and rapper *Dennis Wayne Hope *Earl David Worden, first amendment auditor who was convicted of sexual assault of a child in 2022.

References

External links

Connally Unit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connally, John Unit Prisons in Texas Buildings and structures in Karnes County, Texas 1995 establishments in Texas