Patrick O'Daniel Unit

{{short description|Women's prison in Gatesville, Texas, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{use mdy dates |date=March 2024}} {{Infobox prison | name = Patrick O'Daniel Unit | image = Wackril1.jpg | caption = | pushpin_map = USA Texas | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Texas | location = 2305 Ransom Road<br> Gatesville, Texas 76528 | coordinates = {{Coord|31|29|14|N|97|43|40|W|display=inline,title}} | status = Operational | classification = G1-G5, Administrative Segregation, Death row | capacity = 645 | population = | populationdate = | opened = July 1975 | closed = | former_name = | managed_by = TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division | warden = Andrea Lozada | county = Coryell County | zip = | country = USA | website = {{URL|http://tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/mv.html}} | prisoners = }} [[File:GatesvilleUnitsAerial.png|thumb|Aerial photograph of the prisons in Gatesville, January 13, 1996, United States Geological Survey]] '''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 {{convert|97|acre|ha}} of land, is located {{convert|4|mi|km}} north of central Gatesville on Farm to Market Road 215.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/unit_directory/mv.html|title=O'Daniel Unit|website=Texas Department of Criminal Justice}}</ref> The prison is located in a 45-minute driving distance from Waco.<ref>Krajicek, David. "[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/suzanne_basso/12.html On Death Row]". ''Sue Basso'', Crime Library. Retrieved on October 18, 2010.</ref> In addition to its other functions, O'Daniel Unit houses the state's female death row inmates.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mountain View (MV) - Unit Directory|url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/unit_directory/mv.html|access-date=2020-08-18|website=www.tdcj.texas.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VgTcF_VMt54C&q=Mountain+View&pg=PA100|title=Texas Department of Criminal Justice|date=2004|publisher=Turner Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-56311-964-4|pages=100|language=en}}</ref>

Death row offenders are housed separately from the rest of the prisoners in single-person cells measuring {{convert|60|sqft|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.

While O'Daniel functions as the women's death row, executions take place in the Huntsville Unit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_facts.html|title=Death Row Facts|publisher=Texas Department of Criminal Justice|access-date=2026-01-28}}</ref> 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, Erica Sheppard, 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.<ref>Hannaford, Alex. "[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jul/26/usa.law 'I'm not afraid of dying. I'm just angry']{{-"}}. ''The Guardian''. Monday July 26, 2004. Retrieved on September 26, 2010.</ref>

==History== [[File:GatesvillePrisonsTX1994.PNG|thumb|Topographical map of the Gatesville prison units (Mountain View, Christina Crain, Hilltop, and Hughes), United States Geological Survey, 1994]] 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.<ref name="Handbookstateschool">"[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jjm01 Mountain View School for Boys]". Handbook of Texas. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.</ref> The then named Mountain View Unit opened in July 1975.<ref name="MountainviewHistory">''Texas Department of Criminal Justice''. Turner Publishing Company, 2004. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VgTcF_VMt54C&q=Mountain+View&pg=PA62 100]. {{ISBN|1-56311-964-1}}, {{ISBN|978-1-56311-964-4}}.</ref> In 2023, the prison was renamed the Patrick O'Daniel Unit following a unanimous vote from the Texas Board of Criminal Justice the previous December.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://kdhnews.com/news/local/no-longer-mountain-view-gatesville-prison-gets-a-new-name/article_4bd92840-abf4-11ee-9019-fbb26c0afb5f.html|title=No longer Mountain View; Gatesville prison gets a new name|work=Killeen Daily Herald|date=January 5, 2024|accessdate=January 14, 2024}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.itemonline.com/news/unit-renamed-to-honor-former-tbcj-chairman/article_04532d5c-abdd-11ee-a668-2f9ab5e9a0ab.html|title=Unit renamed to honor former TBCJ Chairman|work=The Huntsville Item|date=January 6, 2024|accessdate=January 14, 2024}}</ref>

==Operation== The prison may hold up to 645 inmates.<ref name=Howertonbraille>Howerton, Matt. "[http://www.kwtx.com/news/local/headlines/Local-Prison-Braille-Unit-Offers-Inmates-A-Chance-At-Salvation-247383021.html Unique Program Offers Local Prison Inmates Chance At Salvation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614002657/http://www.kwtx.com/news/local/headlines/Local-Prison-Braille-Unit-Offers-Inmates-A-Chance-At-Salvation-247383021.html |date=2015-06-14 }}" ([https://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''. February 26, 2014. Retrieved on December 30, 2015.</ref> Ruth Hill of ''The Observer'' 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".<ref name="HillCarty">Hill, Ruth. "[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/27/linda-carty-death-row-texas Linda Carty: 'someone is trying to take my life for someone else's crime']{{-"}}. ''The Observer'' at ''The Guardian''. Sunday June 27, 2010. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.</ref> In regard to the name, Hill stated, "But there is no mountain, and from the prison's death row, there is no view".<ref name="HillCarty"/>

Around 2001, several inmates at O'Daniel were in a Windham School District effort to translate textbooks into braille.<ref>"[http://www.windhamschooldistrict.org/releases/3q_2002/news_briefs.htm News Briefs]". Windham School District. 3rd Quarter of 2002. Retrieved on May 30, 2010.</ref> 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, then use computers to do actual work. The program was established in 1999.<ref name=Howertonbraille/> This is one of the largest braille programs within an American prison.<ref>"[http://www.tci.tdcj.texas.gov/services/braille.aspx TCI Braille Transcribing Services ]." Texas Correctional Industries. Retrieved on January 20, 2016.</ref>

===Death row=== {{see also|Capital punishment in Texas}} 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.<ref name=GraczykDRbuilding>Graczyk, Michael. "[http://amarillo.com/stories/2000/09/13/tex_getnewhome.shtml Texas' condemned women get new home]" ([https://archive.today/20160130211801/http://amarillo.com/stories/2000/09/13/tex_getnewhome.shtml Archive]). ''Associated Press'' at the ''Amarillo Globe-News''. Wednesday September 13, 2000. Retrieved on January 30, 2016.</ref>

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 {{convert|14|by|6|ft|m}}. The doors use traditional bars, unlike the men's death row at the Polunsky Unit near Livingston, Texas. The building is air conditioned, since it also houses a psychiatric unit.<ref name=GraczykDRbuilding/> Amy Dorsett of the ''San Antonio Express-News'' said that the facility has "gleaming white walls, sun-filled cells, and a decorative recreation room".<ref>Dorsett, Amy. "[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFE971B27F7AC4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Grim Unit Gets Face Lift New death row for women ready]". ''San Antonio Express-News''. September 13, 2000. Metro/South Texas 1B. Retrieved on July 19, 2010.</ref> Pam Baggett, the warden of O'Daniel, stated in 2000 that the new death row was less "homey" than the previous one.<ref name=GraczykDRbuilding/>

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.<ref name=GraczykDRbuilding/> The communal area had a television and a center for making crafts.<ref name=Mapesp45>Mapes, Mary. ''Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power''. Macmillan Publishers, October 31, 2006. {{ISBN|1429906952}}, 9781429906951. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sKGf4ojkSqIC&pg=PA44 45].</ref> Mary Mapes, 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.<ref>Mapes, Mary. ''Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power''. Macmillan Publishers, October 31, 2006. {{ISBN|1429906952}}, 9781429906951. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sKGf4ojkSqIC&pg=PA44 44].</ref>

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.<ref name="MountainviewHistory"/> No television was available when the current death-row building first opened in 2000.<ref name=GraczykDRbuilding/> Each death-row inmate may have limited association with the other inmates. The women on death row are permitted to knit and sew.<ref name="HillCarty"/> As of the 1990s, they made dolls for sick children.<ref name=Mapesp45/>

The death-row inmates use a {{convert|50|by|10|yd|m|adj=on}} recreation yard with basketball hoops, a tree, and a bench.<ref name=GraczykDRbuilding/>

The women have programming that the men in the Polunsky Unit death row, as of 2015, do not have.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hannaford|first=Alex|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/letters-from-death-row-alone-on-the-inside/|title=Letters from Death Row: Alone on the Inside|magazine=Texas Observer|date=2015-03-16|access-date=2024-10-06}} - Note: the article states that death row women were held at "Gatesville Unit" but this is not the case.</ref>

==Notable inmates==

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

====Executed==== * Karla Faye Tucker<ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/21/larry.king.tucker/index.html Karla Faye Tucker: Born again on death row]". CNN. March 26, 2007. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.</ref>—Executed on February 3, 1998<ref name="Executed"/> * Betty Lou Beets<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/drowlist/beetsjpg.jpg Betty Lou Beets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051012132627/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/statistics/deathrow/drowlist/beetsjpg.jpg |date=2005-10-12 }}". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.</ref>—Executed on February 24, 2000.<ref>"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/beetsbetty.htm Last Statement—Betty Lou Beets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611201401/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/beetsbetty.htm |date=2011-06-11 }}". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.</ref> * Frances Newton<ref>Tilghman, Andrew. "[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/2922488.html Woman faces execution, but not without a fight]". ''Houston Chronicle''. November 29, 2004. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.</ref>—Executed on September 14, 2005<ref name="Executed">"[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/executedoffenders.htm Executed Offenders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108150222/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/executedoffenders.htm |date=2006-11-08 }}". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.</ref> * Kimberly McCarthy—Executed on June 26, 2013<ref name="Executed"/> * Suzanne Basso—Executed on February 5, 2014<ref name="Executed"/> * Lisa Coleman—Executed on September 17, 2014<ref name="Executed"/>

====Awaiting execution==== * Brittany Holberg<ref>"[http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05149809 Offender Information Detail Holberg, Brittany Marlowe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227180732/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05149809 |date=2015-12-27 }}" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151227180732/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05149809 Archive]). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.</ref>—Conviction vacated in March, 2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Urell |first=Aaryn |date=2025-03-13 |title=Fifth Circuit Vacates Texas Woman’s Conviction After 27 Years on Death Row |url=https://eji.org/news/fifth-circuit-vacates-texas-womans-conviction-after-27-years-on-death-row/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=Equal Justice Initiative |language=en-US}}</ref> * Darlie Lynn Routier<ref>Hollandsworth, Skip. "[http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2002-07-01/feature3 Maybe Darlie Didn't Do It]". ''Texas Monthly''. July 2002. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.</ref> * Kimberly Cargill * Linda Carty * Erica Yvonne Sheppard * Taylor Rene Parker

====Stay of execution==== *Melissa Lucio

===Non-death row inmates=== * Yolanda Saldívar<ref>"[http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05422564 Offender Information Detail Saldivar, Yolanda] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225150220/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05422564 |date=2015-12-25 }}" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151225150220/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05422564 Archive]). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 25, 2015.</ref><ref>Perez, Nicole. "[http://www.ksat.com/news/no-yolanda-saldivar-did-not-die-in-prison NO, Yolanda Saldivar did not die in prison]." ''KSAT-TV''. August 17, 2015. Retrieved on December 25, 2015. "Saldivar is serving a life sentence at the state's Mountain View Facility in Gatesville for the 1995 murder of Selena."</ref> * Kimberly Trenor<ref>"[http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=08065555 Trenor, Kimberly Dawn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227175313/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=08065555 |date=2015-12-27 }}" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151227175313/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=08065555 Archive]). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.</ref> * Diane Zamora<ref>{{cite web |url=http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05713081 |title=Offender Information Detail Zamora, Diane |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227174924/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05713081 |archive-date=2015-12-27 |website=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |access-date=December 28, 2015}}</ref><ref name=Boydcadetkiller>{{cite news|author=Boyd, Deanna|url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article215445360.html|title=Texas killer cadet Diane Zamora was unhappy with her housing. Court declines to help|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|date=2018-07-25|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref> Zamora is no longer housed at Mountain View. She has been relocated to the Dr. Lane Murray Unit, also in Gatesville, TX.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/viewDetail.action?sid=05713081 |title= Inmate Information Details (ZAMORA, DIANE MICHELLE) |website=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> * Christine Paolilla<ref>"[http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=07188577 Paolilla, Christine Marie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227174927/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=07188577 |date=2015-12-27 }}" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151227174927/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=07188577 Archive]). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.</ref> * Kimberly Clark Saenz * Amber Guyger

==See also== * Capital punishment in Texas {{Portal|Texas}}

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==External links== * [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/mv.html O'Daniel Unit] – Texas Department of Criminal Justice * [http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/texas-prisons/units/mountain-view/ List of prisoners at the Mountain View Unit] – The Texas Tribune * [http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-survive-solitary-confinement-2013-9?IR=T This article shows an image of a Mountain View death row cell]

Category:1975 establishments in Texas Category:Capital punishment in Texas Category:Prisons in Gatesville, Texas Category:Women's prisons in Texas