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J. Dale Wainwright Unit
The J. Dale Wainwright Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison for men, located in unincorporated Houston County, Texas. Formerly called the Eastham Unit or "The Ham," the prison was renamed the J. Dale Wainwright Unit after a former chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. The 12,789 acres (5,176 ha) prison is located on Farm to Market Road 230, near Lovelady and 13 miles (21 km) west of Trinity.
Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, said that while the TDCJ and other agencies operate many types of prisons and jails in Texas, "if any unit stands for the rest," it would be Eastham.
Before the American Civil War, the land now making up Eastham was cleared by enslaved people. After the civil war, sharecroppers originally worked the land. The sharecroppers were replaced by prisoners under a convict leasing program. In 1896, Mrs. D. Eastham agreed to pay $14.50 per month per person for 119 convicted men, including many African-Americans. The Eastham Unit opened in April 1917, becoming the first maximum security prison in Texas.
It was named after the Eastham Family, the original owners of the land occupied by the prison. Throughout Eastham's history, many prisoners dreaded being sent to Eastham because of the arduous work assignments, the dangerous conditions, and the difficulty of escaping the unit. Many crackdowns and work strikes occurred during the unit's history. Throughout its history Eastham housed maximum security male prisoners and made them work in the fields.
In the early twentieth century Eastham housed female prisoners. After a sexual abuse scandal occurred, the Texas Prison System administrators moved the women to be closer to Huntsville, and Eastham began housing men. It was during this period, from April 1930 to May 1932, that Clyde Barrow, later ringleader of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde criminal gang, spent his first ever period of incarceration for burglary and auto theft.
Eastham was the starting point of the Texas Prison Rodeo, which began in 1931. On January 16, 1934, Clyde Barrow freed five prisoners from the unit. At a later point Eastham specialized in housing young offenders; at first the young offenders were White, but after the facilities aged the state sent Black young offenders to Eastham. In 1935 Eastham housed White prisoners. In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed White prisoners who were classified as mostly maximum security inmates.
On March 29, 1966, two inmates, Ronnie Lee Barlow, 20, serving a life sentence for murder from San Saba County, and Gerald Doudlag Lackey, 20, serving six years for burglary from Lubbock County, escaped during the night after hiding under brush that had been cut that day. They severely beat a Houston County dairy farmer and his son, stealing guns and a car to further their escape. The injured farmer recovered from head wounds in Crockett Medical and Surgical Clinic. His elder son was sent to Methodist Hospital in Houston, where he was treated for severe head injuries caused by blows to the head with a hatchet and a length of pipe. Highway Patrolman Paul Bruno, who was stationed in Huntsville captured two escaped inmates of the Eastham Unit TDC as they were entering I-45 heading to Dallas.
In 1972 prisoners at Eastham filed Ruiz v. Estelle, a class action lawsuit against the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), as the TDCJ was then known, and won. In 1979 the court found conditions of imprisonment within the TDC prison system constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the United States Constitution. While there were many names included in the lawsuit, David Ruiz was the first name listed and that is how the case was titled.
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J. Dale Wainwright Unit
The J. Dale Wainwright Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison for men, located in unincorporated Houston County, Texas. Formerly called the Eastham Unit or "The Ham," the prison was renamed the J. Dale Wainwright Unit after a former chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. The 12,789 acres (5,176 ha) prison is located on Farm to Market Road 230, near Lovelady and 13 miles (21 km) west of Trinity.
Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, said that while the TDCJ and other agencies operate many types of prisons and jails in Texas, "if any unit stands for the rest," it would be Eastham.
Before the American Civil War, the land now making up Eastham was cleared by enslaved people. After the civil war, sharecroppers originally worked the land. The sharecroppers were replaced by prisoners under a convict leasing program. In 1896, Mrs. D. Eastham agreed to pay $14.50 per month per person for 119 convicted men, including many African-Americans. The Eastham Unit opened in April 1917, becoming the first maximum security prison in Texas.
It was named after the Eastham Family, the original owners of the land occupied by the prison. Throughout Eastham's history, many prisoners dreaded being sent to Eastham because of the arduous work assignments, the dangerous conditions, and the difficulty of escaping the unit. Many crackdowns and work strikes occurred during the unit's history. Throughout its history Eastham housed maximum security male prisoners and made them work in the fields.
In the early twentieth century Eastham housed female prisoners. After a sexual abuse scandal occurred, the Texas Prison System administrators moved the women to be closer to Huntsville, and Eastham began housing men. It was during this period, from April 1930 to May 1932, that Clyde Barrow, later ringleader of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde criminal gang, spent his first ever period of incarceration for burglary and auto theft.
Eastham was the starting point of the Texas Prison Rodeo, which began in 1931. On January 16, 1934, Clyde Barrow freed five prisoners from the unit. At a later point Eastham specialized in housing young offenders; at first the young offenders were White, but after the facilities aged the state sent Black young offenders to Eastham. In 1935 Eastham housed White prisoners. In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed White prisoners who were classified as mostly maximum security inmates.
On March 29, 1966, two inmates, Ronnie Lee Barlow, 20, serving a life sentence for murder from San Saba County, and Gerald Doudlag Lackey, 20, serving six years for burglary from Lubbock County, escaped during the night after hiding under brush that had been cut that day. They severely beat a Houston County dairy farmer and his son, stealing guns and a car to further their escape. The injured farmer recovered from head wounds in Crockett Medical and Surgical Clinic. His elder son was sent to Methodist Hospital in Houston, where he was treated for severe head injuries caused by blows to the head with a hatchet and a length of pipe. Highway Patrolman Paul Bruno, who was stationed in Huntsville captured two escaped inmates of the Eastham Unit TDC as they were entering I-45 heading to Dallas.
In 1972 prisoners at Eastham filed Ruiz v. Estelle, a class action lawsuit against the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), as the TDCJ was then known, and won. In 1979 the court found conditions of imprisonment within the TDC prison system constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the United States Constitution. While there were many names included in the lawsuit, David Ruiz was the first name listed and that is how the case was titled.