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. The unit is located along Farm to Market Road 3328, south of Tennessee Colony. The prison, co-located with Coffield Unit, Michael Unit, and Powledge Unit prisons and the Gurney Unit transfer facility, has of land."." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on June 5, 2010. The unit currently houses over 3,400 offenders.

The unit opened in June 1980. It has the Correctional Institutions Division Region II Maintenance headquarters. The unit was named after George Beto, who served as prison director from 1962 to 1972."1995 Annual Report." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 21, 2010. 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."Keys, Perryn. "JASPER: THE ROAD BACK: Did prison time turn man into one of Byrd's killers?" Beaumont Enterprise. June 9, 2008. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. 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)." 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."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. , .

History

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.Shipp, Brett. "Family, former inmates seek truth in Texas prison death" (). WFAA. September 25, 2015. Retrieved on February 25, 2016.

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.

Facility Beto 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.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. , .

The prison places its confirmed gang members in the F Wing. The far southern wing, PTRC, is a pre-release wing.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. , .

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 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).

Custody levels

General Population: G1 - G4 Administrative Segregation Transient Outside Trusty

Notable inmates Inmate NameRegister NumberStatusDetails 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. Villarreal was originally given a death sentence. Lawrence Russell Brewer: murderer of James Byrd, Jr., executed in 2011. John William "Bill" King: murderer of James Byrd, Jr., executed in 2019.

References

External links

Beto Unit Texas Department of Criminal Justice. List of prisoners in the Beto Unit - The Texas Tribune