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 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

, south of Tennessee Colony. The unit, on of land, is co-located with the

Beto Beto is a surname, and a nickname for the given names Alberto, Albertino, Adalberto, Berthony, Heriberto, Norberto, Roberto, Humberto, or Benito. It occurs mostly in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries and communities. Notable people with the ...

, 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 __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

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
314315
. 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

Former: * Michael Morton - Exonerated of the crime which he was convicted of. He was transferred to Michael after obtaining his master's degree. *

Steven Jay Russell Steven Jay Russell (born December 31, 1957) is an American con artist, known for escaping from prison multiple times. ''I Love You Phillip Morris'', a film about his life and crimes, was produced in 2009. In 2011, his crimes were featured on ...

- The prisoner is a character in the film '' I Love You Phillip Morris'' *

Elmer Wayne Henley Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. (born May 9, 1956) is a convicted American serial killer and painter incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. Henley was convicted in 1974 for his role as a participant in a series of murders ...

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, Mark W. Unit Prisons in Anderson County, Texas 1987 establishments in Texas