 | |
  Location in Texas | |
| Location | 2305 Ransom Road Gatesville, Texas 76528 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°29′14″N 97°43′40″W / 31.48722°N 97.72778°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | G1-G5, Administrative Segregation, Death row |
| Capacity | 645 |
| Opened | July 1975 |
| Managed by | TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division |
| Warden | Andrea Lozada |
| County | Coryell County |
| Country | USA |
| Website | tdcj |
Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit (formerly the Mountain View Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison housing female offenders in Gatesville, Texas. The unit, with about 97 acres (39 ha) of land, is located 4 miles (6.4 km) north of central Gatesville on Farm to Market Road 215.[1] The prison is located in a 45-minute driving distance from Waco.[2] In addition to its other functions, O'Daniel Unit houses the state's female death row inmates.[3][4]
Death row offenders are housed separately from the rest of the prisoners in single-person cells measuring 60 square feet (5.6 m2), with each cell having a window. They do not have recreation individually. Some are allowed to watch television, though this is dependent upon agreeing to work for free, and all have a radio.
Karla Faye Tucker, executed February 3, 1998, was the first woman to be executed in Texas since 1863. The most recent female to be executed was Lisa Coleman, executed on September 17, 2014.
Notable inmates at O'Daniel include Kimberly Clark Saenz, Yolanda Saldívar, Linda Carty, Brittany Holberg, and Darlie Routier. As of October 11, 2019, Amber Guyger, the former Dallas Police Department officer convicted of the murder of Botham Jean, is serving her sentence at the facility.
As of 2004, the facility does not have a sign on the area main highway.[5]
- ^ "O'Daniel Unit". Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
- ^ Krajicek, David. "On Death Row". Sue Basso, Crime Library. Retrieved on October 18, 2010.
- ^ "Mountain View (MV) - Unit Directory". www.tdcj.texas.gov. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company. 2004. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-56311-964-4.
- ^ Hannaford, Alex. "'I'm not afraid of dying. I'm just angry'". The Guardian. Monday July 26, 2004. Retrieved on September 26, 2010.