The Mark W. Michael Unit (MI) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice men's prison located in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas. The unit is along Farm to Market Road 2054, south of Tennessee Colony. The unit, on of land, is co-located with the Beto, Coffield, and Powledge prison units and the Gurney Transfer Unit."Michael Unit ." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. The unit is in proximity to Palestine and the Rusk ironworks,Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 314. . and it is in about a one-hour driving distance from Dallas.Rhor, Monica. "Serial killer wrestles with his crimes." Fox News. Sunday June 8, 2008. Retrieved on December 12, 2010. "Henley, who turned 52 in May, sits behind a glass divider in the visiting room at the Michael Unit, a Texas prison set amid cow pastures and sprawling ranches about an hour south of Dallas."
The Michael Unit opened in September 1987. Texas officials referred to the facility as "model for the future."Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 314-315. . Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, described Michael as "one of the meanest lockups" in Texas.Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 28. .
Operations Michael was one of the first prisons to no longer use the "telephone-pole" layout,Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 315. . which has central pickets with dead-end cell blocks extending from them.Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 44. . The telephone-pole layout, while inexpensive to build, is difficult to police without "building tenders" (convicts paid to police other convicts). Instead, Michael uses a modular pod design, which allows for riot control and visual surveillance. Most pods have double-bunk, reinforced concrete cells with security features such as slit windows and bolted-down metal toilets. Some pods have dormitories. Michael was one of several new prisons to have the ability to have many prisoners in extended lockdowns. State officials said that Michael's features allowing for extended lockdowns of prisoners were modeled on the United States Penitentiary, Marion.
Notable prisoners Current: Inmate NameRegister NumberStatusDetails Shannon Miles 07462349 / 02150490 Serving a life sentence without parole. Perpetrator of the 2015 Murder of Darren Goforth, in which Miles killed him at a gas station. Matt Baker 01634552 Serving a 65-year sentence. Former pastor who murdered his wife Kari Baker. Christian Cavazos aka “Guero10k” & “Houston’s top crash out” 02525215 Serving a life sentence. Former “rapper” who was found guilty of murdering 5 people, 2 being an elderly couple he mistook as gang members. Former: Richard Acosta Jr. - One of the perpetrators of the 2021 Garland Shooting serving life without parole. Currently incarcerated at Telford Unit Michael Morton - Exonerated of the crime which he was convicted of. He was transferred to Michael after obtaining his master's degree. Steven Jay RussellDay, Elizabeth. "I love you Phillip Morris: a conman's story." The Observer. Sunday September 6, 2009. Retrieved on December 10, 2010. - The prisoner is a character in the film I Love You Phillip Morris Elmer Wayne Henley"Henley, Elmer Wayne Jr" (Archive). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.
References
External links
"Michael Unit." Texas Department of Criminal Justice.