The George Beto Unit (B) is a men's maximum security prison of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice located in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas, US.[1] The unit is located along Farm to Market Road 3328, 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of Tennessee Colony. The prison, co-located with Coffield Unit, Michael Unit, and Powledge Unit prisons and the Gurney Unit transfer facility, has 20,518 acres (8,303 ha) of land.[2] The unit currently houses over 3,400 offenders.
  Location in Texas | |
| Location | 1391 FM 3328 Tennessee Colony, Texas, US |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°45′16″N 95°49′22″W / 31.7545333°N 95.822777°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | G1-G5, Outside Trusty, Transient |
| Capacity | Unit: 3,150 Trusty Camp: 321 |
| Opened | June 1980 |
| Managed by | TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division |
| Warden | Terry Andrews |
| County | Anderson County |
| Country | USA |
| Website | www |
The unit opened in June 1980. It has the Correctional Institutions Division Region II Maintenance headquarters.[2] The unit was named after George Beto, who served as prison director from 1962 to 1972.[3] In 2008 Perryn Keys of the Beaumont Enterprise said that Beto "has been described as a gladiator’s playground — a hardcore joint, even as prisons go."[4] That year, Ricardo Ainslie, an author and a professor in the educational psychology department of the University of Texas, said that when he toured Beto with the warden, he was "scared (expletive)."[4] Joyce King, author of the 2002 book Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas, said that Beto's reputation as a "gladiator" prison stems from the fact that most of its prisoners are in their mid-20s, relatively young. As of that year, some inmates are at the equivalent of a 4th year high school student (senior), and a few are near their 30s. King also said "The dubious distinction is also a warning—gladiators either fight because they must or because they like to."[5]
History
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2016) |
In 2014 Curtis Garland, Jr., a prisoner from Dallas who began a 12-year sentence for family violence in 2012, died of an asthma attack. His family believed that prison officials did not disclose the true details related to the death.[6]
On March 11, 2022 inmate Damien Bryant burned alive in his cell. After guards noticed smoke coming from his cell during a routine security check, they extinguished the fire and called EMS. Damien Bryant was pronounced dead on the scene by the attending Physician at Palestine Regional Hospital. [7]
Facility
editBeto has housing for its warden. The warden housing, in one duplex unit, is a part of three duplexes. One other duplex has housing for the warden of another unit, and one is unoccupied as of 2002.[8]
The prison places its confirmed gang members in the F Wing. The far southern wing, PTRC,[clarification needed] is a pre-release wing.[9]
The prison currently has three unoccupied wings that are kept for emergency overflow. The three wings are old administrative segregation wings from when the unit housed MROP[clarification needed] offenders. Currently, the only occupied wings are A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, P, T, U, O (transient wing), X (PHD, Seg, solitary wing).[citation needed]
Custody levels
edit- General Population: G1 - G4
- Administrative Segregation
- Transient
- Outside
- Trusty
Notable inmates
edit| Inmate Name | Register Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raul Omar Villarreal | 05128548 / 01306432 | Serving a life sentence; eligible for parole in 2029. | One of six perpetrators of the 1993 Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña in which the two girls were brutally gang raped and tortured before being killed.[10] Villarreal was originally given a death sentence.[11][12] |
- Lawrence Russell Brewer: murderer of James Byrd, Jr., executed in 2011.[4]
- John William "Bill" King: murderer of James Byrd, Jr., executed in 2019.[4]
References
edit- ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Anderson County, TX" (PDF). Suitland, Maryland: U.S. Census Bureau. pp. 18, 24 (PDF p. 19, 25/41). Retrieved 2022-08-14.
George Beto Unit
- ^ a b "[1]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on June 5, 2010.
- ^ "1995 Annual Report." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Keys, Perryn. "JASPER: THE ROAD BACK: Did prison time turn man into one of Byrd's killers?[permanent dead link]" Beaumont Enterprise. June 9, 2008. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
- ^ King, Joyce. Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas. Random House, Inc., 2002. 98. Retrieved from Google Books on November 3, 2010. ISBN 0-375-42132-7, ISBN 978-0-375-42132-7.
- ^ Shipp, Brett. "Family, former inmates seek truth in Texas prison death[permanent dead link]" (Archive). WFAA. September 25, 2015. Retrieved on February 25, 2016.
- ^ Correspondent, Khaleda Rahman National (2022-03-28). "Another Inmate Burns to Death in Prison Cell in Texas". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ King, Joyce. Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas. Random House, Inc., 2002. 92. Retrieved from Google Books on November 3, 2010. ISBN 0-375-42132-7, ISBN 978-0-375-42132-7.
- ^ King, Joyce. Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas. Random House, Inc., 2002. 97. Retrieved from Google Books on November 3, 2010. ISBN 0-375-42132-7, ISBN 978-0-375-42132-7.
- ^ "Fathers confront daughters' killers". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ Graczyk, Michael (1994-10-02). "Texas Death Row Gains 5 Teens Guilty of Brutal Murders : Crime: Two girls who took a shortcut across a field to get home before curfew became victims of young toughs who had gathered for a night of boozing and brawling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ "Mexican-born killer put to death after appeal fails". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
