Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit (formerly the Mountain View Unit) is a

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 ...

prison housing female offenders in Gatesville,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The unit, with about of land, is located north of central Gatesville on Farm to Market Road 215. The prison is located in a 45-minute driving distance from

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

. In addition to its other functions, O'Daniel Unit houses the state's female death row inmates. Death row offenders are housed separately from the rest of the prisoners in single-person cells measuring , with each cell having a window. They do not have recreation individually. Some are allowed to watch

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, though this is dependent upon agreeing to work for free, and all have a

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

Karla Faye Tucker Karla Faye Tucker (November 18, 1959 – February 3, 1998) was an American woman sentenced to death for killing two people with a pickaxe during a burglary. She was the first woman to be executed in the United States since Velma Barfield in 198 ...

, 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 Yolanda Saldívar () (born September 19, 1960) is an American former nurse who murdered singer Selena in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995. Saldívar had been the president of Selena's fan club and the manager of her boutiques, but she lo ...

Linda Carty } Linda Anita Carty (born 5 October 1958) is a Kittitian-American former schoolteacher who is on death row in Texas. In February 2002, she was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder in 2001 of 20-year-old Joana Rodriguez in order to steal ...

Brittany Holberg Brittany Marlowe Holberg (born January 1, 1973) is an American woman on death row in the U.S. state of Texas. On Friday, March 27, 1998, Holberg was convicted of the November 1996 robbery, torture and murder of 80-year-old A. B. Towery Sr. in his ...

, and

Darlie Routier Darlie Lynn Peck Routier (born January 4, 1970) is an American woman from Rowlett, Texas, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her five-year-old son Damon in 1996. She has also been charged with capital murder in the death ...

. As of October 11, 2019, Amber Guyger, the former

Dallas Police Department The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas. Organization The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hir ...

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.

History

The Mountain View State School closed in 1975, and its boys were sent to other facilities. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice bought the land and buildings. The facility reopened as a women's prison.Mountain View School for Boys
.

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. The then named Mountain View Unit opened in July 1975.''Texas Department of Criminal Justice''. Turner Publishing Company, 2004
100
, . In 2024, the prison was renamed the Patrick O'Daniel Unit following a unanimous vote from the Texas Board of Criminal Justice the previous December. The prison was renamed to honor former Texas Board of Criminal Justice chairman of the same name, of whom served that position from 2020 to 2023.

Operation

The prison may hold up to 645 inmates.Howerton, Matt.

" ( ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150614002657/http://www.kwtx.com/news/local/headlines/Local-Prison-Braille-Unit-Offers-Inmates-A-Chance-At-Salvation-247383021.html Archive. ''

KWTX-TV KWTX-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Waco, Texas, United States, serving Central Texas as an affiliate of CBS and Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Belton-licensed CW affiliate KNCT (channel 46). The two stations sha ...

''. February 26, 2014. Retrieved on December 30, 2015. Ruth Hill of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' described the unit as "intimidating", saying that the "bunker-like buildings are punctuated with slit windows and wreathed in wire, with guard towers on every corner".Hill, Ruth.
Linda Carty: 'someone is trying to take my life for someone else's crime'
''

'' at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Sunday June 27, 2010. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. In regard to the name, Hill stated, "But there is no mountain, and from the prison's death row, there is no view". Around 2001, several inmates at O'Daniel were in a Windham School District effort to translate textbooks into

braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...

. These books are intended for Texas schoolchildren and college and university students. Kevin VonRosenberg, one of the coordinators of the braille program, stated in 2014 that it is a very sought-after inmate positions. Prisoners learn how to use a

Perkins Brailler The Perkins Brailler is a "braille typewriter" with a key corresponding to each of the six dots of the braille code, a space key, a backspace key, and a line space key. Like a manual typewriter, it has two side knobs to advance paper through th ...

, then use computers to do actual work. The program was established in 1999. This is one of the largest braille programs within an American prison.

Death row

The women's death row is located in a red-brick, one-story building that first opened in 1985 to house psychiatric patients. The female death-row and psychiatric patients together occupy the same building. Plans to renovate the building first occurred in 1995 and renovation began in early 2000. The renovation cost was $95,000.Graczyk, Michael.
Texas' condemned women get new home

Archive
. ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' at the ''

Amarillo Globe-News The ''Amarillo Globe-News'' is a daily newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by Gannett. The newspaper is based at downtown's FirstBank Southwest Tower, but is printed at a facility in Lubbock.Tim Howsare, "", ''Amarillo Globe-News'', September 1 ...

''. Wednesday September 13, 2000. Retrieved on January 30, 2016. The building has a day room and a work area along with two rows of cells, with six cells each. One row is designated for women punished in administrative segregation and/or those who do not wish to work, and another row is for women who wish to work. Each cell is . The doors use traditional bars, unlike the men's death row at the

Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, Texas, West Livingston, unincorporated area, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston, Texas, Living ...

near

Livingston, Texas Livingston is a town in and the county seat of Polk County, Texas, United States. With a population of 5,640 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, it is the largest city in Polk County. It is located approximately south of Lufk ...

. The building is air conditioned, since it also houses a psychiatric unit. Amy Dorsett of the ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...

'' said that the facility has "gleaming white walls, sun-filled cells, and a decorative recreation room". Pam Baggett, the warden of O'Daniel, stated in 2000 that the new death row was less "homey" than the previous one. From the early 1980s to 2000, condemned women were housed in an eight-cell building with an immediately adjacent, combined day room and work area. The communal area had a television and a center for making crafts. Mapes, Mary. '' Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power''.

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

, October 31, 2006. , 9781429906951. p
45

Mary Mapes Mary Alice Mapes (born May 9, 1956) is an American journalist, former television news Television producer, producer, and author. She was a principal producer for CBS News, primarily the ''CBS Evening News'' and primetime television program ''60 ...

, the author of '' Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power'', wrote that each cell was painted in bright colors and that the cells, which "could have been dorm rooms in a particularly austere college", had cots with "lacy touches", afghans, and "colorful pillows". She added that the death row in general had comfortable seating and was brightly colored. As of 2004, the female death-row inmates may participate in a work program and have limited viewing of a television located outside of their cells. No television was available when the current death-row building first opened in 2000. Each death-row inmate may have limited association with the other inmates. The women on death row are permitted to knit and sew. As of the 1990s, they made dolls for sick children. The death-row inmates use a recreation yard with basketball hoops, a tree, and a bench. The women have programming that the men in the

death row, as of 2015, do not have.

Notable inmates

Death-row inmates

All inmates on this list are/were under death sentences from the State of Texas.

Executed

—Executed on February 3, 1998 * Betty Lou Beets—Executed on February 24, 2000. * Frances Newton—Executed on September 14, 2005Executed Offenders
".

. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. * Kimberly McCarthy—Executed on June 26, 2013 *

Suzanne Basso Suzanne Margaret "Sue" Basso ( Burns; May 15, 1954 – February 5, 2014) was an American woman who was one of six co-defendants convicted in the August 1998 torture and murder of 59 year-old Louis "Buddy" Musso, a mentally disabled man who was ki ...

—Executed on February 5, 2014 * Lisa Coleman—Executed on September 17, 2014

Awaiting execution

* Darlie Lynn Routier * Kimberly Cargill *

* Erica Yvonne Sheppard * Taylor Rene Parker

Stay of execution

Melissa Lucio Melissa Elizabeth Lucio (born June 18, 1969) is an American woman who was convicted of capital murder after the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, who was found to have scattered bruising in various stages of healing, as well as injuries ...

Non-death row inmates

* Kimberly Trenor * Diane Zamora Zamora is no longer housed at Mountain View. She has been relocated to the Dr. Lane Murray Unit, also in Gatesville, TX. *

Christine Paolilla Christine Marie Paolilla (born March 31, 1986) is a convicted American mass murderer who is serving a life sentence for fatally shooting four people, including two of her friends, in their Clear Lake City, Texas, home on July 18, 2003. The kill ...

Paolilla, Christine Marie
"
Archive
.

. Retrieved on December 28, 2015. * Kimberly Clark Saenz * Amber Guyger

References

External links

O'Daniel Unit
–

List of prisoners at the Mountain View Unit
–

The Texas Tribune ''The Texas Tribune'' is a nonprofit politics and public policy news website headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. Its stated aim is to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events. ''The Texas T ...

This article shows an image of a Mountain View death row cell
!--How To Survive Life In Solitary Confinement by Erin Fuchs, Business Insider, September 5, 2013--> {{Women's prisons in the United States 1975 establishments in Texas Buildings and structures in Coryell County, Texas Capital punishment in Texas Prisons in Gatesville, Texas Women's prisons in Texas