{{Short description|State prison in Bowie County, Texas, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox prison | name = Barry B. Telford Unit | image = | caption = | pushpin_map = USA Texas | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Texas | location = 3899 State Hwy 98<br>New Boston, Texas 75570 | coordinates = {{coord|33.4214167|-094.4764833|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | status = Operational | classification = Security classification of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice{{!}}G1-G5, Administrative segregation, safekeeping. | capacity = 2,872 | population = | populationdate = | opened = July 1995 | closed = | former_name = | managed_by = TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division | director = | governor = | warden = Balden Polk | street-address = | county = Bowie County | postcode = | zip = | country = US | website = {{URL|http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/to.html}} | prisoners = }}
The '''Barry B. Telford Unit''' ('''TO''') a.k.a. '''Telford Unit''' (opened July 1995) is a Texas state prison located in unincorporated Bowie County, Texas. The facility, along Texas State Highway 98, is {{convert|2|mi|km}} south of Interstate 30. It has a "New Boston, Texas" mailing address,<ref name=Unitprof>[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/to.html "Telford TO"], Texas Department of Criminal Justice, accessed 2014-01-08</ref> and is in proximity to Texarkana.<ref name=Apsettodie>"[http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2011-06-16/texas-inmate-who-killed-fellow-prisoner-set-die Texas inmate who killed fellow prisoner set to die]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170103165221/http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2011-06-16/texas-inmate-who-killed-fellow-prisoner-set-die Archive]). ''Associated Press'' at the ''Amarillo Globe-News''. June 16, 2011. Retrieved on January 20, 2016.</ref> The Telford Unit is operated by Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correctional Institutions Division, administered within Region II.<ref name=Unitprof/>
==History== {{expand section|date=January 2016}} On July 11, 1997, William Speer (then TDCJ#668485), killed a 47-year-old prisoner in his cell. Speer was sentenced to death and became TDCJ#999398. He is now in the Polunsky Unit.<ref>"[http://tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/speerwilliam.html Speer, William]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on January 26, 2016.</ref> His co-defendant Anibal Canales was also sentenced to death.<ref>"[https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/canalesanibal.html Canales, Anibal]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice.</ref>
On April 1, 1999, a prisoner named Lee Andrew Taylor,<ref name=TaylorLee>"[http://tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/taylorlee.html Taylor, Lee Andrew]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on January 20, 2016.</ref> nicknamed "Tiny",<ref name=Hannafordonlyvictims>Hannaford, Alex. "[http://www.thenation.com/article/inmates-arent-only-victims-prison-industrial-complex/ Inmates Aren’t the Only Victims of the Prison-Industrial Complex]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160109043418/http://www.thenation.com/article/inmates-arent-only-victims-prison-industrial-complex/ Archive]). ''The Nation''. September 16, 2014. Retrieved on January 20, 2016.</ref> fatally stabbed prisoner, Donta Green,<ref name=Apsettodie/> in a dayroom. Taylor was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, a prison gang ("security threat group" in TDCJ parlance) and the death was a result of racial tension. Taylor (TDCJ #765153 as a non-death row inmate) was serving a life sentence for aggravated robbery;<ref name=TaylorLee/> The prisoner stated that the stabbing was self-defense.<ref name=Apsettodie/> However Taylor was sentenced to death,<ref name=TaylorLee/> and moved to the Polunsky Unit.<ref name=Hannafordonlyvictims/> He (TDCJ #999344 as a death row inmate) was executed at the Huntsville Unit on June 16, 2011.<ref>"[http://tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/taylorleelast.html Last Statement Lee Taylor, TDCJ #999344]." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on January 20, 2016.</ref>
On July 15, 2015, Officer Timothy Davison was beaten to death by an inmate he was escorting back to his cell. The inmate managed to free his hand from his handcuffs and grabbed the officer's slot pry tool and beat him in the head with it. The accused inmate, Billy Joel Tracy, 38, who has a history of violent behavior, was sentenced to death in November 2017 for the crime.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ktbs.com/news/jury-sentences-telford-inmate-to-death-for-killing-correctional-officer/article_d556c730-ca5a-11e7-a22d-97d7b0809208.html|title=Jury sentences Telford inmate to death for killing correctional officer|work=KTBS-TV}}</ref>
==Notable inmates== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- !width=15%|Inmate Name !width=18%|Register Number !width=28%|Status !width=35%|Details |- |style="text-align:center;"| Elmer Wayne Henley |style="text-align:center;"| 01924387 / 00241618 | Serving six life terms without the possibility of parole. | Assisted with Dean Corll's murders from 1972–1973.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1973-08-15 |title=2 Youths Indicted in Texas Killings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/15/archives/2-youths-indicted-in-texas-killings.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-07-01 |title=TRIAL OPENS TODAY IN TEXAS KILLINGS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/01/archives/trial-opens-today-in-texas-killings-defendant-charged-in-six-of-27.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Times |first=Paul L. Montgomery Special to The New York |date=1974-07-21 |title=Houston Finds Murder Ring Random, Enigmatic Intrusion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/21/archives/houston-finds-murder-ring-random-enigmatic-intrusion-the-talk-of.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> |} *Bernie Tiede<ref>"[https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05931666 TIEDE, BERNHARDT II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209045829/https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=05931666 |date=2016-12-09 }}." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 9, 2016.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/to.html Telford Unit] - Texas Department of Criminal Justice {{TDCJ-CID prisons}}
Category:1995 establishments in Texas Category:Buildings and structures in Bowie County, Texas Category:Prisons in Texas Category:Government buildings completed in 1995