View source for Huntsville Unit

{{Short description|Texas state prison}}
{{Infobox prison
| name           = Huntsville Unit (HV)
| image          = HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg
| pushpin_map    = USA Texas
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Texas
| location       = 815 12th Street<br />[[Huntsville, Texas|Huntsville]], [[Texas]] 77342
| coordinates    = {{Coord|30.7217|-95.5466|type:landmark_region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}
| status         = Operational
| classification = [[List of security classification of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice|G1–G3, Security Detention, Transient]]
| capacity       = 1,705
| opened         = 1849
| closed         =
| warden         = Kelly Strong
| managed_by     = [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]
| county         = [[Walker County, Texas|Walker County]]
| country        = [[United States of America|USA]]
| prisoners      = Chad Butler ("[[Pimp C]]"), [[Duane Chapman|Duane "Dog" Chapman]], [[John Wesley Hardin]], [[Satanta (White Bear)|Satanta]], [[Doc Middleton]] Seth Wayne Campbell  (first marriage on unit)
}}
'''Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville''' or '''Huntsville<!--Walls is a nickname, Huntsville is the official shorthand--> Unit''' ('''HV'''), nicknamed "'''Walls Unit'''",<!--Sourced below--> is a Texas state [[prison]] located in [[Huntsville, Texas]], United States. The approximately {{convert|54.36|acre|ha|adj=on}} facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Institutions Division of the [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]].<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/hv.htm Huntsville Unit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330015208/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/hv.htm |date=2008-03-30 }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.</ref> The facility, the oldest Texas state prison, opened in 1849.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2001/sep/huntsville/010910.huntsville.html |title=Huntsville Prison Blues |publisher=PBS.org |access-date=2007-12-08}}</ref>

The unit houses the [[execution chamber]] of the State of Texas. It is the most active execution chamber in the United States, with 595 (as of May 20, 2025)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2024/10/02/nx-s1-5136517/texas-man-executed-fatally-stabbing-twins-1989 |website=[[NPR]] |title=A Texas man is executed for fatally stabbing twin teenage girls in 1989 |date=2 October 2024 }}</ref> executions since 1982, when the death penalty was reinstated in Texas (see [[Lists of people executed in Texas]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_executed_offenders.html |title=Death Row Information |publisher=Tdcj.state.tx.us |access-date=2013-04-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415164205/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_executed_offenders.html |archive-date=2013-04-15 }}</ref>

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2010}}
[[File:Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville prison yard in 1870s.jpg|thumb|Huntsville Unit's yard during the 1870s]]
The prison's first inmates arrived on October 2, 1849.<ref name="Hollister">Hollister, Stacy. "[http://www.texasmonthly.com/2002-07-01/tidbits.php Texas Tidbits]." ''[[Texas Monthly]]''. July 2002. Retrieved on July 3, 2010.</ref> The unit was named after the County of Huntsville.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19980113083840/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/tdcj1995.htm 1995 Annual Report]." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.</ref> 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".<ref name=Roth>Roth, Mitchel P. "[http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/southwestern_historical_quarterly/v115/115.1.roth.html ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire'' (review)]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140714142656/http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/southwestern_historical_quarterly/v115/115.1.roth.html Archive]). ''[[Southwestern Historical Quarterly]]'', 2011, Vol.115(1), pp.106-107 [Peer Reviewed Journal] - Available at [[Project MUSE]].</ref>

Originally Huntsville Unit was only for white Texans; the only penalties available to black Texans were whipping and hanging. During the [[American Civil War]], prisoners at Huntsville produced tents and uniforms for Confederate forces at the prison textile factory.<ref>King, Michael. "[http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A1070701 Grim History]." ''[[Austin Chronicle]]''. August 20, 2010. Retrieved on December 11, 2010.</ref> After the Civil War ended, Huntsville Unit was the only prison in the former [[Confederate States of America]] to remain.<ref name="Hollister"/> Perkinson stated that the prison became, within the state, the "first racially integrated public institution".<ref name=Roth/>

Originally women in the Texas Prison System were housed in the Huntsville Unit.<ref name="Perkinson93">Perkinson, Robert. ''[[Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire]]''. First Edition. [[Metropolitan Books]], 2010. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=HOxmcfIopugC&pg=PA93 93]. {{ISBN|978-0-8050-8069-8}}. "Conditions at the Walls<!--"Walls" refers to Huntsville Unit--> provoked criticism as well, particularly with respect to female prisoners."</ref> Beginning in 1883 women were housed in the Johnson Farm, a privately owned cotton plantation near Huntsville.<ref name="Perkinson132">Perkinson, Robert. ''[[Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire]]''. First Edition. [[Metropolitan Books]], 2010. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=HOxmcfIopugC&pg=PA132 132]. {{ISBN|978-0-8050-8069-8}}.</ref> During this time there was some concern that "immoral practices may be resorted to" in regards to the female prisoners.<ref name="www.tsl.texas.gov">The Texas State Library and Archives. Fear Force and Leather: The Texas Prison System's First Hundred Years, 1848-1948. [https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/prisons/convictlease/women.html].</ref>

Historically the prison served as the administrative headquarters of the [[Texas Prison System]] and the Texas Department of Corrections;<ref name="Handbook">{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jjt01 |title=Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |work=Handbook of Texas Online |access-date=2010-07-24|date=2010-06-15 }}</ref><ref>Renaud, Jorge Antonio. "Diagnostic." ''[[Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates]]''. [[University of North Texas Press]], 2002. 1. {{ISBN|1-57441-153-5}}, {{ISBN|978-1-57441-153-9}}.</ref> 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.<ref name="Handbook"/> In 1934 [[John Lomax]] and [[Alan Lomax]] recorded the earliest known recording of "[[This Little Light of Mine]]" when they recorded Jim Boyd of [[Jacksonville, Texas]], singing at prison.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kodaly.hnu.edu/song.cfm?id=673|title = Kodály Center for Music Education - Song}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/afc9999005.635/|title = This little light of mine| website=[[Library of Congress]] }}</ref> 

In 1965, the men's death row moved to the [[Ellis Unit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_facts.html|title=Death Row Information|publisher=[[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]|access-date=2024-10-05}}</ref>

In 1974, the prison was the site of an [[1974 Huntsville Prison Siege|eleven-day siege]], one of the longest hostage-taking sieges in [[United States]] history.<ref name=TIME>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20121024221355/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908631,00.html?iid=chix-sphere Blood Hostages]", ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'', August 12, 1974. Retrieved on 2008-07-13.</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

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.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Warden'' by Jim Willett and Ron Rozelle</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}<ref>{{Cite web|title = Observer-Reporter - Google News Archive Search|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19740805&id=xw1eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ql8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1668,489291&hl=en|website = news.google.com|access-date = 2016-01-19}}</ref> 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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010805120331/http://tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/executed/cuevas.jpg cuevas.jpg] (). [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]].</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title = Participant in Prison Siege Is Executed in Texas|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/23/us/participant-in-prison-siege-is-executed-in-texas.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 1991-05-23|access-date = 2016-01-19|issn = 0362-4331}}</ref>

==Facility==
[[File:HuntsvilleUnitBrickWalls.jpg|thumb|The red brick walls led to the nickname "Walls Unit."]]
While the prison is officially the Huntsville Unit, the prison's red brick walls led to the nickname "Walls Unit."<ref>[[Michael Graczyk|Graczyk, Michael]]. "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZFAcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l1gEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4955,2394511&dq=walls-unit+nickname&hl=en Tales from inside Texas death row]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}." ''[[Associated Press]]'' at ''[[The Victoria Advocate]]''. Sunday April 10, 2005. 1C. Retrieved from ''[[Google News]]'' (Page 16 of 47) on July 24, 2010.</ref> The prison is {{convert|160|mi|km|sp=us}} southeast of [[Dallas]] and {{convert|70|mi|km|sp=us}} north of [[Houston]].<ref>"[http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=3&cid=2377394&schid=160&secid=27168 Texas ejecutó a un hispano]." ''[[Univision]]''. April 28, 2010. "[...]en la unidad carcelaria Walls, en Huntsville, a unos 250 kilómetros al sureste de Dallas."</ref> The original cellblock had been closed for several years prior to 2011.<ref>Ward, Mike. "[http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2011/05/17/budget_writers_agree_to_shut_p.html?cxntfid=blogs_postcards Budget writers agree to shut old prison] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014215418/http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2011/05/17/budget_writers_agree_to_shut_p.html/?cxntfid=blogs_postcards |date=2012-10-14 }}." ''[[Austin American-Statesman]]''. Tuesday May 17, 2011. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.</ref> The electric chair was previously in a building adjacent to the institution's east wall. When the [[death row]] was in Huntsville, it was in the East Building.<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_facts.html Death Row Facts]." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on September 23, 2014.</ref>

==Operations==
The warden of the Huntsville Unit is in charge of the maintenance of the [[Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery]], the TDCJ prisoner cemetery.<ref name=TurnerEternity>"[http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Eternity-s-gate-slowly-closing-at-Peckerwood-Hill-3761731.php Eternity's gate slowly closing at Peckerwood Hill]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. August 3, 2012. Retrieved on March 16, 2014.</ref> Prisoners from this unit are assigned to maintain the cemetery.<ref name=Ross>Ross, Robyn. "[http://www.texasobserver.org/prison-inmates-laid-rest-huntsville/ Laid to Rest in Huntsville]" ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316052624/http://www.texasobserver.org/prison-inmates-laid-rest-huntsville/ |date=2014-03-16 }}) ''[[Texas Observer]]''. Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Retrieved on March 16, 2014.</ref>

==Release center==
The Huntsville Unit serves as one of the TDCJ's regional release centers for male prisoners. Most male prisoners are released to be closer to their counties of conviction, approved release counties, and/or residences. Male prisoners who have detainers, are classified as sex offenders, have electronic monitoring imposed by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and/or have certain special conditions of the Super Intensive Supervision Program (SISP) are released from the Huntsville Unit, regardless of their counties of conviction, residences, and/or approved release counties.<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/publications/executive/2010_Gen_Info_Guide_for_Families_of_Offenders_print.pdf General Information Guide for Families of Offenders]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. December 2010. 36 (40/46). Retrieved on March 1, 2011.</ref> 

Rick Thaler, the director of the Correctional Institutions Division, predicted in 2010 that the Huntsville Unit, which serves as the regional release center for [[Greater Houston]], will remain the TDCJ's largest release center.<ref name="newcenters">"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/mediasvc/connections/SeptOct2010/agency2_vol18no1.html New regional release centers now operating across state] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220035504/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us//mediasvc/connections/SeptOct2010/agency2_vol18no1.html |date=2011-02-20 }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. September–October 2010. Retrieved on March 1, 2011.</ref> 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.<ref>Schiller, Dane. "[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6997586.html Walking free - now what?]" ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. May 9, 2010. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.</ref>

==Death penalty==
The Huntsville Unit is the location of the State of Texas [[execution chamber]].<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/faq/faq-victim.htm Frequently Asked Questions Victim Survivors Viewing Executions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725204214/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/faq/faq-victim.htm |date=2010-07-25 }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. "Executions in Texas normally take place around 6:00 p.m. at the Huntsville Unit in downtown Huntsville, Texas."</ref> The TDCJ generally houses male death row inmates in the [[Polunsky Unit]] (formerly Terrell Unit) and female death row inmates in the [[Patrick O'Daniel Unit]] (formerly Mountain View Unit).<ref name="TexasDR">"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/drowfacts.htm Death Row Facts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806085208/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/drowfacts.htm |date=August 6, 2009 }}." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.</ref>

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 [[euphemism|euphemistically]] called "[[Old Sparky#Texas|Old Sparky]]"—was constructed by inmates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXHUNprison.html |title=Texas Prison Museum: Home of Old Sparky |publisher=RoadsideAmerica.com |access-date=2007-12-08}}</ref>  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.

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.<ref>[[Bruce Jackson (scholar)|Jackson, Bruce]] and Diane Christian. ''[[In This Timeless Time: Living and Dying on Death Row in America]]''. [[University of North Carolina]], 2012. {{ISBN|0807835390}}, 9780807835395. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PG7IEOzabuMC&pg=PA143 143].</ref>

===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&nbsp;p.m. Huntsville (Central) time.<ref>[http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CR/pdf/CR.43.pdf Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 43.14, "Execution of Convict"]</ref>  

Until that time, the condemned inmates are housed about {{convert|30|ft|m}} 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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}} No law prohibits multiple executions in a single day, but this has not happened since August 2000.

The execution chamber is a {{convert|9|ft|m|adj=on}} by {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=on}} room, with [[mint green]]-painted walls and a [[gurney]]. When Jim Willett was warden of Huntsville Unit, he added a pillow to the gurney. Texas uses a single lethal dose of [[pentobarbital]] to execute condemned inmates.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/us/facing-challenge-to-execution-texas-calls-its-process-the-gold-standard.html | title=Confronted on Execution, Texas Proudly Says It Kills Efficiently| newspaper=The New York Times| date=2014-05-12| last1=Fernandez| first1=Manny| last2=Schwartz| first2=John}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Perkinson40">Perkinson, Robert. ''[[Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire]]''. First Edition. [[Metropolitan Books]], 2010. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=HOxmcfIopugC&pg=PA40 40]. {{ISBN|978-0-8050-8069-8}}.</ref>

==Notable inmates==
<!--All current death row inmates, while executed in this unit, are housed elsewhere!!

Determination of whether a male death row inmate was at Huntsville Unit for his/her death row prison sentencing (distinct from execution) is based on his date of imprisonment (from 1923 to 1965), as the state holds/held (almost) all male death row inmates in the same location. See: https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_facts.html

A male death row inmate held from 1923 to 1965 should be assumed to be held at Huntsville Unit unless reliable sources say he was held elsewhere. For female death row inmates, check reliable sources for each inmate as the State of Texas at that time only rarely held female inmates. Death row inmates held from 1923 to 1973 do not have individual profiles, but their information is listed here https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_1923-1973.html

-->
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 [[Lists of people executed in Texas]].
Current:
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!width=13%|Inmate Name
!width=10%|Register Number
!width=28%|Status
!width=35%|Details
|-
| [[Pimp C|Chad Butler]] 
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| Transferred to Huntsville from the [[Terrell Unit]] in [[Brazoria County, Texas]] on the week of his release from the TDCJ system<ref>"[http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/entertainment&id=3770742 Rapper Pimp C released from prison]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629045322/http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news%2Fentertainment&id=3770742 |date=June 29, 2011 }}." ''[[KTRK-TV]]''. Friday December 20, 2005. Retrieved on November 19, 2010.</ref>
|Known as [[Pimp C]], a rapper
|-
| [[Fred Gómez Carrasco|Fred Carrasco]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| Committed suicide
| Perpetrator of the [[1974 Huntsville Prison Siege]]<ref name="Cuevas">"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/executed/cuevas.jpg Ignacio Cuevas] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611191849/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/executed/cuevas.jpg |date=2011-06-11 }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on December 4, 2010.</ref>
|-
| [[Henry Ray Clark]] 
| style="text-align:center;"|
| Released, now deceased
| Artist<ref>{{cite web|title=Art turned around Henry Ray Clark's troubled life|url=http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Art-turned-around-Henry-Ray-Clark-s-troubled-life-1891467.php|access-date=7 March 2013|date=2006-08-02}}</ref> known as [[The Magnificent Pretty Boy]]
|-
| [[Duane Chapman|Duane 'DOG' Chapman]] 
| TDCJ #271097
| Served 18 months for a murder in 1977.
| Star of the television show ''[[Dog the Bounty Hunter]]''
|-
| [[Jack Purvis (musician)|Jack Purvis]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| Committed a robbery in [[El Paso, Texas]]<ref>Hollandsworth, Skip. "O Sister, Where Art Thou?" ''[[Texas Monthly]]''. May 2003. [http://www.texasmonthly.com/2003-05-01/feature-2.php 2]. Retrieved on October 20, 2011.</ref>
| Musician
|-
| [[John Wesley Hardin]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| Served from September 28, 1878, to March 16, 1894<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frontiertimes.com/outlaws/hardin.html |title=Outlaws: John Wesley Hardin |publisher=FrontierTimes |access-date=2013-04-22}}</ref>
| Outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West
|-
| [[Satanta (White Bear)|Satanta]] 
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| Committed suicide in the prison<ref>"[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsa33 Satanta]." ''[[Handbook of Texas]]''. Retrieved on October 26, 2010.</ref>
|A Kiowa war chief
|-
| [[South Park Mexican|Carlos Coy]] 
| |TDCJ #01110642
| Eligible for parole on October 7, 2024; projected release date April 8, 2047
| Known as [[South Park Mexican|SPM (South Park Mexican)]], a rapper
|-
| [[Zilla Fatu|Isayah Fatu]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| Served six years for robbery between 2016 and March 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thesportster.com/zilla-fatu-age-height-weight-finisher-facts-trivia-anoai-family-samoan-dynasty/|title=Zilla Fatu: Age, Height, Weight, Finisher & More To Know|work=thesportster.com|author=Akshay Thimmaya & Andrew Kelly|date=July 30, 2024|access-date=September 4, 2024}}</ref>
| Known as [[Zilla Fatu]], a [[professional wrestler]]
|}
* [[Buck Barrow]], [[Barrow Gang]]
* [[George Hassell]]: Huntsville Unit Death Row, Executed in February 1928.
* [[W. D. Jones]], [[Barrow Gang]], 6 years at Huntsville
<!--Please do NOT list people executed in Huntsville but held at Ellis, Mountain View, Polunsky, etc on Death row (in other words, post-1965 prisoners)-->

==Cultural references==
* "Huntsville", a song on [[Merle Haggard|Merle Haggard's]] 1971 album, ''[[Someday We'll Look Back]]'' references being sent to Huntsville Prison.
* ''[[The Getaway (1972 film)|The Getaway]]'', a 1972 [[Sam Peckinpah]] film, which starred [[Steve McQueen (actor)|Steve McQueen]], was filmed here.
* [[Cross Canadian Ragweed]] has a song that is about the prison called "Walls of Huntsville" on their [[Cross Canadian Ragweed (album)|2002 self-titled album]].
* [[Steve Earle]] recorded "Ellis Unit One" (after the [[Ellis Unit]]) for the 1995 film ''[[Dead Man Walking (soundtrack)|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]] portrayed the convict Butch Haynes in the 1993 film ''[[A Perfect World]]'', who escaped from Huntsville Prison.
* [[Texas Country]] artist [[Cody Johnson]] 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 (film)|No Country for Old Men]]'', it was mentioned that the Sheriff in [[Terrell County, Texas]] 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]] - "Back Home In Huntsville Again"
* In [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s ''[[Jackie Brown (film)|Jackie Brown]]'', the characters played by [[Samuel L. Jackson]] and [[Robert De Niro]] first met while doing time in Huntsville.
* In the 2003 video game ''[[Freelancer (video game)|Freelancer]]'', the LPI ''Huntsville'' is a prison ship orbiting Houston planet in the Texas system.
* [[David Allan Coe]] refers to the "Huntsville prison walls so high" in his song "Houston, Dallas, San Antone".
*The 2003 film, ''[[The Life of David Gale]]'', 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]]'s 2011 documentary ''[[Into the Abyss (film)|Into the Abyss]]'', follows the execution of [[Michael Perry and Jason Burkett|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".

== See also ==
{{Portal|Texas}}
* [[List of Texas state prisons]]
* [[Texas Prison Rodeo]]
* [[Capital punishment in Texas]]
{{Clear}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/hv.html Huntsville Unit] - [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]
* {{Handbook  of Texas|id = jjt01 | name = Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville}}
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/20046/tsl-20046.html Texas Prison Board: An Inventory of Records of the Texas Prison System at the  Texas State Archive   1913-1933, 1943, undated]
* [http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/texas-prisons/units/huntsville/ List of prisoners at the Huntsville Unit] - [[The Texas Tribune]]
* [http://www.txprisonmuseum.org/ Texas Prison Museum]
* "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100626104338/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4082/Photos#tab-Photos/0 Inside Death Row]." - [[National Geographic Explorer]]

{{TDCJ}}
{{Execution sites in the United States}}
{{Huntsville, Texas}}

[[Category:1849 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Prisons in Huntsville, Texas]]
[[Category:Women's prisons in Texas]]
[[Category:Capital punishment in Texas]]
[[Category:Execution sites in the United States]]