history of texas department of criminal justice (tdcj) “we’ll even leave the light on”

History of Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)

“We’ll Even Leave the Light On”

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Texas State Penitentiary (Huntsville)


Agency Titles

• 1848-1866 – Texas State Penitentiary

• 1866-1957– Texas Prison System

• 1957-1989– Texas Department of Corrections

• 1989-Present– Texas Department of Criminal Justice


Era Characterizations

• 1836-1861 The Formative Years

• 1861-1865 The Civil War Era

• 1866-1909 The Convict Lease Era

• 1910-1936 The Farm System

• 1937-1947 The Decline

• 1947-1973 The Reform Era


The Formative Years (1836-1861)

• Prior to 1848– Inmates housed in local/county jails

• May 1, 1848– 2nd Legislature passed creation of Huntsville

Penitentiary with 225 cells

• October 1, 1849– 1st inmate received, William Sansom (cattle theft)

• 1855 – 75 inmates• 1860 – 182 inmates


Civil War Era (1861-1865)

• Civil War Union POWs and court-marshaled soldiers held

• Prison industries aided South by production of cloth from cotton and wool mills

• 1865 – only one prison left standing in the Confederate states (Huntsville)


Convict Lease Era (1871-1912)

• Increased number of inmates• 2nd legislature

– Leased inmate labor and use of facilities– Outside camps established– Inmates hired by railroad and plantation

owners• 1877-1882 – second prison built in Rusk

– Opened January, 1883


Farm System Era (1910-1936)

1910-1912• Legislative changes to inmate accounts• Industries slowed, farming expanded• Less education and other reform efforts• Leases were cancelled


Farm System Era (1910-1936)Chain Gangs and Building Tenders

Chain Gang: inmates leased to a private owner, and “chained” together during work to prevent their escape

Building Tenders: inmates used to “control” other inmates and open/close cells


Farm System Era (1910-1936)

• Large agricultural ranching operations became hallmarks of the prison system


The Decline (1937-1947)

• Troubled times for prisons• Turned purchased plantations into farms• Corrupt and mismanaged administration• Fraud, and poor treatment of inmates


“Backsliding”

• Large influx of inmates

• Brutality• Self-mutilation• Sexual Perversion• Incompetence• Petty Theft

• Darrington Farm– 333 inmates

housed in a unit designed for 250

– Shower every three weeks

– NO laundry services

• Retrieve Farm– 475 inmates

housed in a unit designed for 350

– 3 1 sleep on brick floor


The Reform Years (1947-1973)

• Emphasis on reform, teaching, and recreation

• New Classification system

• 1931 – Prison rodeo established


The Reform Years (1947-1973)

• 1947 – Penal reforms– Modernized agricultural production– Initiated industrial products– Improvements in facilities

• 1948 – “Construction Division”– Used inmate labor– Prison-made bricks– Prison-made concrete for new buildings


Prison Industries: License Plate Factory


Ellis Administration

• “Ellis Plan” implemented by O.B. Ellis

• Texas Prison System renamed to Texas Department of Corrections

• Education and industry expanded


Beto Administration

• Dr. George Beto director, of TDCJ• Implemented the Windham School District• National recognition for clean, orderly, and

secure institutions• 1964 – Cooper v. Pate• 1971 – Guajardo v. Estelle• 1972 – Lamar v. Coffield


Supreme Court Decisions

• Cooper v. Pate – Prisoners have the right to challenge administrative practices.

• Guajardo v. Estelle – TDCJ could not deny inmates the right to correspond with inmates on the same or different units regarding legal matters .

• Lamar v. Coffield – TDCJ prohibited from segregating offender housing or jobs based on race.


Windham School District


Windham School DistrictLargest School District in Texas

• Established 1969• Offered GED and High School Diploma to

inmates• Junior- and Senior-level college courses• Rehabilitation programs• Vocational training• Furlough and community service• Helped secure work and transition after release


Prison-Made Goods Act

• 1963 – Produced materials for internal use and sale to other state agencies

• “Occupational training” for inmates

• Education, recreation, religion, physiological, and psychological health care added


Inmate Goods


Conflict and Consolidation (1973-1998)Estelle administration:

– Ruiz v. Estelle– The Carrasco Incident

• Weapons smuggled into the unit• Hostages were killed• Lasted eleven days

– The Pack/Moore Homicides• An offender was acquitted for the homicides of the warden and top prison

official. This caused much outrage amongst the prison staff and concerns for safety

– Death of Minnie Houston• One of the first female correctional officers was murdered by an offender in

the officer’s dining hall. This raised additional concerns for the suitability of female correctional officers in male facilities (female officers were allowed in male facilities as a result of K.K. Coble v. TDCJ)

– TDCJ established 1989


Ruiz v. Estelle

• 1978 class action lawsuit challenged conditions of confinement

• Longest running lawsuit• Federal courts maintained control of TDCJ

until 2002


Ruiz v. Estelle

• Violations alleged– Due process– Cruel and unusual

punishment– Crowding, poor

living/health, and work conditions


Texas Department of Criminal Justice(1972-Present)

• 1986 – Prison rodeo stopped due to cost of repair and operation

• 1989 – TDCJ & Board of Criminal Justice were created

• Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division– Department of Corrections– Board of Pardons and Parole– Texas Adult Probation Commission


Recent History (1998-Present)

• June 17, 2002 – Federal oversight under Ruiz was dismissed

• Connally Seven “Texas 7”– Amended count procedures– Revised security procedures– Modified the offender classification plan to

include reassignment of offenders to more appropriate security levels


http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/20.html?print=yes


• Homicides of Daniel Nagle, Stanley Wiley, and Rhonda Osborne– Murdered by inmates– Officer safety reviewed– Initiatives to include body alarms, carry-on-person chemical

agents, defensive tactics training, thrust vests (stab resistant vests), and BOSS chairs (x-ray chairs that check body orifices for weapons

• Hurricane Rita – 9,400 inmates were moved via airplane and vehicles prior to the hurricane hitting land



• CID reorganized to create better communication, coordination, consistency, and improve access to resources; revised into 6 regions.

• American Correctional Association (ACA) accreditation


Prison Population

• 1990s – the number of prison beds tripled• Community supervision implemented• State Jails created• Transfer facilities established• 1998 – 124,000 in TDCJ, and 6,168 in

private facilities


Current Statistics

• 5 SAFPFs (Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facilities)

• 21 State Jail Facilities

• 82 Prisons


Resources

• Texas Department of Criminal Justice http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/

• Photos taken with permission at the Texas Prison Museum

• http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/20.html?print=yes


http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/




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