Mark W. Michael Unit Explained

Prison Name:Mark W. Michael Unit
Location:2664 FM 2054
Tennessee Colony, Texas 75886
Status:Operational
Classification:G1-G5, Administrative Segregation, Outside Trusty, Safekeeping
Capacity:Unit: 2,984 Trusty Camp: 321
Opened:September 1987
Managed By:TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division
Warden:Veronica Lilly
County:Anderson County
Country:United States

The Mark W. Michael Unit (MI) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice men's prison located in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas.[1] The unit is along Farm to Market Road 2054, 4miles south of Tennessee Colony. The unit, on 20518acres of land, is co-located with the Beto, Coffield, and Powledge prison units and the Gurney Transfer Unit.[2] The unit is in proximity to Palestine and the Rusk ironworks,[3] and it is in about a one-hour driving distance from Dallas.[4]

The Michael Unit opened in September 1987.[2] Texas officials referred to the facility as "model for the future."[5] Robert Perkinson, author of , described Michael as "one of the meanest lockups" in Texas.[6]

Operations

Michael was one of the first prisons to no longer use the "telephone-pole" layout,[7] which has central pickets with dead-end cell blocks extending from them.[8] 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.[7] Michael was one of several new prisons to have the ability to have many prisoners in extended lockdowns.[3] State officials said that Michael's features allowing for extended lockdowns of prisoners were modeled on the United States Penitentiary, Marion.[7]

Notable prisoners

Current:

width=13%Inmate Namewidth=10%Register Numberwidth=28%Statuswidth=35%Details
Shannon Miles07462349 / 02150490Serving a life sentence without parole.Perpetrator of the 2015 Murder of Darren Goforth, in which Miles killed him at a gas station.[9] [10] [11]
Former:

External links

31.7947°N -95.9031°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Anderson County, TX. U.S. Census Bureau. 2022-08-14. 17 (PDF p. 18/41). Mark W Michael Unit.
  2. "Michael Unit ." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
  3. Perkinson, Robert. . First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 314. .
  4. 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."
  5. Perkinson, Robert. . First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 314-315. .
  6. Perkinson, Robert. . First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 28. .
  7. Perkinson, Robert. . First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 315. .
  8. Perkinson, Robert. . First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 44. .
  9. Web site: 2015-08-30 . Texas Deputy Slaying: Suspect Shannon Miles Charged in Killing of Darren Goforth . 2024-02-16 . NBC News . en.
  10. Web site: 2017-09-13 . Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Texas Deputy At Gas Station - CBS Texas . 2024-02-16 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  11. Web site: 2017-09-13 . Shannon Miles gets life in prison for murder of Deputy Goforth . 2024-02-16 . KPRC . en.
  12. Web site: The Innocent Man, Part Two. Colloff. Pamela. December 2012. Texas Monthly. en. 2019-05-12.
  13. Day, Elizabeth. "I love you Phillip Morris: a conman's story." The Observer. Sunday September 6, 2009. Retrieved on December 10, 2010.
  14. "Henley, Elmer Wayne Jr" (Archive). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.