Texas Department of Criminal Justice:

An Inventory of the Carrasco Tapes at the Texas State Archives, 1974

Agency History

"An Act to Establish a State Penitentiary" was passed in 1848 by the Second Legislature. The act established a governing body of the penitentiary as a three-member Board of Directors, appointed by the Governor, with the approval of the Senate. The Board was responsible for creating and distributing a set of rules and bylaws for the administration of the penitentiary, overseeing the treatment of convicts, preparing an annual inventory of property, and making an annual report to the Governor. Over the years, the name and composition of the Board changed. While its basic functions were not greatly altered, some duties were added. These included acquiring land for the Huntsville and Rusk facilities, purchasing machinery, effecting repairs, leasing the penitentiaries, leasing convicts for outside labor, purchasing and/or leasing farms for the employment of convicts, and providing for the transfer of convicts from county jails to the penitentiary. During the 19th century the direct management of the prison was through the inspector, later known as the superintendent. Other officers included assistant superintendents, inspectors of outside camps, the financial agent, and physicians. The superintendent and financial agent had the most direct dealings with the Board and the Governor in the management of the prison system.

The prison system began as a single institution, located in Huntsville, known as the Huntsville Penitentiary. Convicts were put to work in various shops and factories housed within the institution. In 1871, the legislature directed that the penitentiary be leased to private individuals (Chapter 21, 12th Legislature, 1st Called Session). These men, known as lessees, paid the state for the convict labor and use of facilities, and in turn, managed the system, including clothing and feeding the convicts and paying the guards. It was during this period that the outside camp system was firmly established as part of the prison system. In addition to the use of convicts in and around the prison, the convicts were hired out to large labor employers, mainly plantation owners and railroad companies. A second prison facility, Rusk Penitentiary, was built between 1877 and 1882. It began receiving convicts in January of 1883.

In 1881, the Legislature reorganized the prison system, abolishing the Board of Directors, and creating in its place a Penitentiary Board, consisting of the governor, the state treasurer, and the prison superintendent (Chapter 49, 17th Legislature, Regular Session). In April 1883, the administrative system was again reorganized, with the board comprised of the governor and two commissioners appointed by the governor (Chapter 114, 18th Legislature, Regular Session). In 1885, the board composition changed once more, now consisting of three commissioners appointed by the governor (House Bill 562, 19th Legislature, Regular Session). This board was succeeded by the Board of Prison Commissioners in 1910, which was composed of three commissioners appointed by the governor (Senate Bill 10, 31st Legislature, 4th Called Session). The legislation that created the new board also directed the prison system to begin operating again on state account, i.e., lessees no longer managed the prison system, effective in January 1911. Convicts, or inmates, were housed and worked in one of the two prisons or on one of several state prison farms. The shop industries slowed down while the prison farms expanded. This arrangement made it more difficult to provide education and other reform measures. Such measures were generally practiced at Huntsville, with some teaching extended to a couple of prison farms by the early 1900s.

The Texas Prison Board replaced the Board of Prison Commissioners as the governing body for the Texas Prison System in 1927, increasing in size to nine members (House Bill 59, 40th Legislature, Regular Session). The members of the board were appointed by the governor, with senate approval, to six year overlapping terms. The Board formulated the policies and the manager carried them out. During the Board's tenure, 1927-1957, the Board made changes in the system including more emphasis on prison reform, teaching, recreation--including the establishment of the Texas Prison Rodeo--and a new method of classifying inmates. The Texas Prison System became the Department of Corrections in 1957 (Senate Bill 42, 55th Legislature, Regular Session). This Department was governed by the Board of Corrections, composed of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate to six year overlapping terms.

In 1989, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Board of Criminal Justice were created (House Bill 2335, 71st Legislature, Regular Session). The Board is composed of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate to six year overlapping terms. The governor may not appoint more than two members who reside in an area encompassed by the same administrative judicial region. This new agency absorbed the functions of three agencies: the Department of Corrections, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Texas Adult Probation Commission. The Department of Corrections, which was responsible for the operation of the prison system, is now the Institutional Division of the Department of Criminal Justice. This Division still manages the housing of inmates within the prison system. Offenders are currently housed in 73 facilities--59 prison units and 14 transfer facilities, that include five women's units, four medical units, three psychiatric units, a diagnostic unit for initial processing, two boot camps, and two work camps. TDCJ also contracts with seven privately operated facilities to house inmates. As of July 1998, approximately 124,000 offenders were housed in TDCJ units; 6,168 in private facilities.

The other divisions of the Department of Criminal Justice are the Parole Division (including the Board of Pardons and Paroles), the Community Justice Assistance Division (former Adult Probation Commission), the State Jail Division (created in 1993), the Executive Division, Internal Affairs, Programs and Services, Victims Services, Office of the General Counsel, Financial Services, Health Services, Internal Audit, and State Counsel for Offenders. Direct management of the prison system is through an executive director, with each division headed by a director and each individual prison unit managed by a warden.

The prison system has changed since the 1900s. A major penal reform program was initiated in 1947, modernizing agricultural production, initiating industrial production by inmates, and providing improvements in physical facilities for inmates and employees. A Construction Division was created in 1948 to make use of inmate labor, prison-made brick, and concrete for new building projects. In 1963, the Prison-Made Goods Act authorized an Industries Program to produce materials for internal use and for sale to qualified agencies in the state while providing occupational skills training to inmates. Other services available to inmates include education, recreation, religion, and physiological and psychological health care. The Windham School District was created in 1969 to offer GED certificates or high school diplomas to inmates. Junior college and senior college classes are available. Rehabilitation programs offer vocational training, work furlough programs, and community services to aid inmates in securing work upon release and making the adjustment and transition into society. Legal services are also available to inmates through the Office of the General Counsel.

In 1978, a class action suit was filed by inmate David Ruiz and others on behalf of the inmates confined in the various institutions operated by the Texas Department of Corrections against the director W.J. Estelle, Jr. and the Texas Department of Corrections. The courts found the conditions of confinement violated the United States Constitution and appointed a special master and monitors to supervise implementation of the court-ordered changes. These changes have included reduction of crowding in the prisons and the development of better living, health, and working conditions for inmates. TDCJ is still monitored by the federal government to insure continued compliance with the court orders.

Scope and Content of the Records

These are audiocassette tapes from a hostage incident that occurred at the Huntsville Unit education and library facility, from July 27 to August 12, 1974. The dates cover the incident (July 27-August 3) and the post-incident interviews (August 7-12). The incident is also known as the "Huntsville Siege." It involved three inmates - Fred Gomez Carrasco, Rudy S. Dominguez, and Ignacio Cuevas, who took hostages and made a number of demands to prison officials in exchange for their freedom. The incident lasted more than a week, ending with the death of two female hostages, the wounding of other hostages, and the death of inmate gunmen Carrasco and Dominguez. The hostages were employees Glen D. Johnson, Ronald W. Robinson, Aline V. House, Novella M. Pollard, Linda G. Woodman, Elizabeth Y. Beseda - died, Julia C. Standley - died, Bertha M. Davis, Ann Fleming, Bobby G. Heard, and Anthony Branch; Father Joseph O'Brien; and four inmates, Martin Quiroz, Henry Escamilla, Steve Robertson, and Florencio Vera. The surviving inmate gunman, Ignacio Cuevas, was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of hostage Julia Standley. He was executed on May 23, 1991.

The tapes record the conversations between the inmates, director W.J. Estelle, Jr., Carrasco's attorney - Ruben Montemayor (who served as a mediator), warden H.H. Husbands, Governor Dolph Briscoe, reporters, hostages and their families, and others. The inventory transcribes information written on the cassettes about either the speakers and/or the content of the tapes. Many of the conversations with the inmate gunmen are either in Spanish or else in Spanish and English. Most of the tapes date during the siege, July 27-August 3, 1974. A few date from August 7-12, 1974, and are interviews with the surviving inmate gunman and hostages about the siege.

One of the hostages, librarian Aline House, published a book in 1975 about the siege, The Carrasco Tragedy, Eleven Days of Terror in the Huntsville Prison. This book gives a day-by-day description of events and discusses the aftermath of the crisis, including the trial of the surviving gunman, Ignacio Cuevas.

The tapes were duplicated in December 2000-January 2001 in order to make a use copy available for research. All the tapes were listened to briefly to determine their condition; a random sample were fully played. Notes in the inventory indicate when blank sides were discovered. However, not all the tapes were listened to sufficiently to determine the extent of the recordings for each cassette. Researchers should not assume all tapes containing a blank side are so marked.

This series was removed from the overall TDJC finding aid due to the electronic file size limitations imposed by the online finding aid web site (TARO). If you are reading this electronically, click on the following link to access the overall finding aid, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Records. If you are reading this in paper in the Archives search room, the finding aid, Records, is found in the first divider within the same binder.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Due to the fragility of the tapes, duplicates must be used instead of the original tapes. Transcripts are not available at this time. One tape (1999/113-55) is damaged and not available for use at this time. A duplicate was not able to be made for it. Until it is repaired, it cannot be used.

Technical Requirements

Researchers wishing to access the audiotapes must contact the preservation archivist to obtain the necessary equipment.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Carrasco tapes, Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 1999/113

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on March 5, 1999.

Processing Information

Processed by:

Laura K. Saegert, October 1999, March 2001

Detailed Description of the Records