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Carol Vance Unit
Carol S. Vance Unit (J2, previously the Harlem II Unit and the Jester II Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison located in unincorporated central Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The unit, located in flatlands, is along U.S. Highway 90A, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of central Richmond. The facility is in proximity to Sugar Land, and it is about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Downtown Houston. The unit, with about 940 acres (380 ha) of land, is co-located with Jester I Unit, Jester III Unit, and Jester IV Unit. The unit consists of four steel buildings and two brick buildings. The prison is the home of the Prison Fellowship Academy (formerly known as the "InnerChange Freedom Initiative") Christian prison program. It is located on the Jester State Prison Farm property.
The unit opened in 1885. Its first brick building was in 1933. The unit was originally known as the Harlem II Unit, and at a later point it became the Jester II Unit. In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed Hispanic and Latino Americans over the age of 25. The unit was named after Governor of Texas Beauford H. Jester.
Carol Vance, a former Harris County district attorney and the chairperson of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, asked state officials to implement the first Christian faith-based prison program at Jester II. State officials began to implement the program in 1996. The InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) program, which was operated by Prison Fellowship Ministries and was founded by Charles Colson, first came to Jester II in April 1997. The TDCJ selected Vance due to its location in Greater Houston as aftercare resources for released prisoners and volunteer recruitment were centered in the Houston area. The program was modeled after a Christian-based prison program in Brazil.
The Texas Board of Criminal Justice voted to rename the Jester II Unit to the Carol Vance Unit. On Wednesday September 15, 1999, the Jester II Unit was officially renamed the Carol Vance Unit during ceremonies beginning at 10:30 AM that day.
By 2010, due to the expansion of Greater Houston, housing developments have appeared within a close proximity to the prison grounds. Many custom houses are adjacent to the unit; some are worth about one million dollars each.
Jesse Hyde of the Dallas Observer said that Vance "looks like any other minimum-security prison in Texas—a cluster of brick buildings, a fence topped with razor wire, a group of inmates loitering in the yard." However the interior is decorated differently than in other prisons; for instance the walls have murals depicting events in Christianity, including the Crucifixion of Jesus and an apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation.
In the Vance Unit, the State of Texas operates services regarding to the safety and physical care of the prisoners, while the Innerchange Freedom Initiative operates all of the programming.
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) program is operated with no additional cost to Texas taxpayers. As of 2002 the IFI program had 179 participants, with the program occupying 200 of the 378 beds in the Vance Unit. Incoming inmates complete a 30-day self-study orientation.
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Carol Vance Unit
Carol S. Vance Unit (J2, previously the Harlem II Unit and the Jester II Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison located in unincorporated central Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The unit, located in flatlands, is along U.S. Highway 90A, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of central Richmond. The facility is in proximity to Sugar Land, and it is about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Downtown Houston. The unit, with about 940 acres (380 ha) of land, is co-located with Jester I Unit, Jester III Unit, and Jester IV Unit. The unit consists of four steel buildings and two brick buildings. The prison is the home of the Prison Fellowship Academy (formerly known as the "InnerChange Freedom Initiative") Christian prison program. It is located on the Jester State Prison Farm property.
The unit opened in 1885. Its first brick building was in 1933. The unit was originally known as the Harlem II Unit, and at a later point it became the Jester II Unit. In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed Hispanic and Latino Americans over the age of 25. The unit was named after Governor of Texas Beauford H. Jester.
Carol Vance, a former Harris County district attorney and the chairperson of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, asked state officials to implement the first Christian faith-based prison program at Jester II. State officials began to implement the program in 1996. The InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) program, which was operated by Prison Fellowship Ministries and was founded by Charles Colson, first came to Jester II in April 1997. The TDCJ selected Vance due to its location in Greater Houston as aftercare resources for released prisoners and volunteer recruitment were centered in the Houston area. The program was modeled after a Christian-based prison program in Brazil.
The Texas Board of Criminal Justice voted to rename the Jester II Unit to the Carol Vance Unit. On Wednesday September 15, 1999, the Jester II Unit was officially renamed the Carol Vance Unit during ceremonies beginning at 10:30 AM that day.
By 2010, due to the expansion of Greater Houston, housing developments have appeared within a close proximity to the prison grounds. Many custom houses are adjacent to the unit; some are worth about one million dollars each.
Jesse Hyde of the Dallas Observer said that Vance "looks like any other minimum-security prison in Texas—a cluster of brick buildings, a fence topped with razor wire, a group of inmates loitering in the yard." However the interior is decorated differently than in other prisons; for instance the walls have murals depicting events in Christianity, including the Crucifixion of Jesus and an apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation.
In the Vance Unit, the State of Texas operates services regarding to the safety and physical care of the prisoners, while the Innerchange Freedom Initiative operates all of the programming.
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) program is operated with no additional cost to Texas taxpayers. As of 2002 the IFI program had 179 participants, with the program occupying 200 of the 378 beds in the Vance Unit. Incoming inmates complete a 30-day self-study orientation.
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