The John B. Connally Unit is a

maximum-security prison Maximum security prisons and supermax prisons are grades of high security level used by prison systems in various countries, which pose a higher level of security to prevent prisoners from escaping and/or doing harm to other inmates or security guar ...

for males located in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Karnes County, Texas Karnes County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,710. Its county seat is Karnes City. The county is named for Henry Karnes, a soldier in the Texas Revolution. The former San Antonio and Aransas ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located on Farm to Market Road 632, just east of

U.S. Highway 181 U.S. Highway 181 is a south–north U.S. Highway located entirely in the state of Texas. Both termini are at Interstate 37, the road that it mainly parallels to the east. US 181 begins in Corpus Christi, Texas at mile marker 0 to the south, t ...

south of the city of Kenedy,Connally Unit
"

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, ...

. Retrieved on May 10, 2010. and southeast of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. The prison, with about of space, is operated by the Correctional Institutions Division of the

, administered as within Region IV. The unit is named for former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

United States Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

John B. Connally, Jr. John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917June 15, 1993) was an American politician. He served as the 39th governor of Texas and as the 61st United States secretary of the Treasury. He began his career as a Democrat and later became a Republican ...

History

The prison opened in July 1995. On December 13, 2000, the prison became infamous after seven inmates staged an elaborate breakout that was successful; this group later became known as the

Texas Seven The Texas 7 were a group of prisoners who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas, on December 13, 2000. Six of the seven were apprehended over a month later, between January 21–23, 2001, as a direct result of the television s ...

. During the subsequent crime spree, the seven fugitives killed a police officer in

Irving Irving may refer to: People *Irving (name), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters * Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip) * Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' vide ...

. Six of the inmates were later recaptured in January 2001, while the seventh committed suicide before being captured; the six who were recaptured were sentenced to death.The Escape
" ''The Daring Escape of the Texas 7''. Crime Library. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.

Notable inmates

* The

, who escaped in December 2000, and caused the death of

police officer Aubrey Hawkins during a robbery. One of them committed suicide while on the run; the others were recaptured, tried, and convicted of the Hawkins murder, all being sentenced to death. As of December 2018, the two surviving members of the seven are incarcerated in the

Allan B. Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. - Note the 2010 U.S. Cens ...

. ** Joseph C. Garcia (executed December 4, 2018) ** Randy Ethan Halprin ** Larry James Harper (committed suicide while on the run) ** Patrick Henry Murphy, Jr. ** Donald Keith Newbury (executed February 2, 2015) ** George Rivas (ringleader, executed February 29, 2012) ** Michael Anthony Rodriguez (declined appeals beyond mandatory, executed August 14, 2008) * Carlton Dotson, former

Baylor Bears basketball The Baylor Bears men's basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Bears compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games in Ferrell Center and is currently co ...

player who pleaded guilty to the

murder of Patrick Dennehy The murder of Patrick Dennehy, an American college basketball player for Baylor University, occurred on June 12, 2003, when he was shot by Baylor teammate Carlton Dotson. The murder set off a chain of events which led to the Baylor basketball sc ...

, his teammate *

Bernie Tiede Bernhardt Tiede II (; born August 2, 1958) is an American mortician who was convicted of the November 19, 1996 murder of his companion, wealthy 81-year-old widow Marjorie "Marge" Nugent, in Carthage, Texas. He was 38 at the time of the murder. ...

, mortician and convicted murderer who was the subject of the 2011 film '' Bernie''

References

External links

Connally Unit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connally, John Unit Prisons in Texas Buildings and structures in Karnes County, Texas 1995 establishments in Texas