Wallace Pack Unit Explained
| Prison Name: | Wallace Pack Unit |
| Location: | 2400 Wallace Pack Road
Navasota, Texas 77868 |
| Coordinates: | 30.3244°N -96.1064°W |
| Status: | Operational |
| Classification: | G1-G3, Administrative Segregation, Outside Trusty |
| Capacity: | Unit: 1,157
Trusty Camp: 321 |
| Opened: | September 1983 |
| Managed By: | TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division |
| Warden: | Timothy Fitzpatrick |
| County: | Grimes County |
| Country: | United States |
The Wallace Pack Unit (P1) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison in unincorporated Grimes County, Texas,[1] 5miles south of Navasota. It is along Farm to Market Road 1227,[2] in proximity to Houston.[3]
History
It opened in September 1983[2] and is named after Wallace Pack, warden of Ellis Unit who was drowned in self-defence in 1981.[4]
As of 2014 the prison has hundreds of elderly prisoners above the age of 60.[5] In 2014 Jeff Edwards, an Austin civil rights lawyer, filed a lawsuit against the TDCJ on behalf of Pack Unit prisoners. They argue that the unit's temperature is at dangerous levels and that it needs to be lowered to 88F.[3] The suit was filed at a federal courthouse in Houston. The four plaintiffs have disabilities and medical conditions amplified by extreme heat. They compared cell blocks to ovens and argued that tables are too hot to touch.[5] Prisoners also complained about the water provided in the prison, stating that it has arsenic. In June 2016 a federal judge ruled that the prison must provide safe drinking water.[6]
A settlement to provide air conditioning was reached in 2018.[7]
Notable prisoners
- Keith Robert Turner - perpetrator of the 2006 Harris County, Texas hate crime assault[8]
- Royce Zeigler - perpetrator of the Murder of Riley Ann Sawyers[9]
- John Bernard Feit - Former Catholic priest convicted in 2018 of the murder of former schoolteacher and beauty queen Irene Garza, his former parishioner. https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=16100647 https://www.courthousenews.com/former-priest-faces-dismissal-of-murder-appeal/
- William Neil Gallagher - an American Christian radio host who stole $23 million from over 190 people in a Ponzi scheme over the course of a decade. His victims ages ranged from 62-91.[1] He was sentenced to life in prison for numerous financial crimes and made to pay $10 million in restitution.[10]
Notes and References
- Web site: 2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Grimes County, TX. U.S. Census Bureau. 2022-08-15. 26-27 (PDF p. 27-28/38). Wallace Pack Unit.
- "Pack Unit." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on June 22, 2014.
- Haynes, Danielle. "Texas inmates sue for air conditioning." United Press International. June 20, 2014. Retrieved on June 22, 2014.
- Berryhill, Michael. "The Trials of Eroy Brown." The Texas Observer. November 1, 2011.
- Ward, Mike. "New lawsuit: Prisons so hot, cell blocks like ovens." Houston Chronicle. June 18, 2014. Retrieved on June 22, 2014.
- Web site: Judge Rules Texas Prison Must Provide Inmates With Safe-drinking Water. Fox News Channel. 27 September 2016. 23 June 2016.
- Web site: Judge approves settlement mandating air conditioning at hot Texas prison. 8 May 2018.
- "Turner, Keith Robert" (Archive). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.
- "Zeigler, Royce Clyde II" (Archive). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.
- Web site: 2021-11-02 . Christian radio host Doc Gallagher gets 3 life prison terms for bilking listeners out of millions of dollars - CBS News . 2024-07-12 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
