Access to the autopsies in the Assorted prison records and papers series is restricted for 100 years by the Medical Practice Act, Vernon's Ann. Civ. St., Article 4495b, Section 5.08 (d). Autopsies dated 1985 will be available for research in 2085; those dated 1986 will be available in 2086.
Under the Copyright Act of 1976 as amended in 1998, unpublished manuscripts are protected at a minimum through December 31, 2002 or 70 years after the author's death. Researchers are responsible for complying with the Copyright Law.
(Identify the item and cite the series), Death row files and assorted prison records and papers, Dr. Robert P. Pierce Collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
In 1881, the Legislature reorganized the prison system, abolishing the Board of Directors, creating in its place a Penitentiary Board. This board was succeeded by the Board of Prison Commissioners in 1910. The Texas Prison Board replaced the Board of Prison Commissioners in 1927. The Texas Prison System (governed by the Texas Prison Board) became the Department of Corrections (governed by the Board of Corrections) in 1957. Then, in 1989, the Department of Criminal Justice, governed by the Board of Criminal Justice, was created.
In 1924, the state began housing inmates scheduled to die in an area known as death row. The electric chair was used by the prison system as the form of execution from 1924 to 1972. In 1972, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled capital punishment to be cruel and unusual punishment, and those prisoners in Texas remaining on death row had their sentences commuted to life in prison. In 1974, executions once again became legal. The State of Texas adopted death by lethal injection as the new method of execution in 1977. The first use of lethal injection for an execution was in December 1982. This method is still in use today by the prison system for execution of death row inmates. (Vernon's Ann. Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 43.14)
The materials in this collection were gathered together by Dr.
Robert P. Pierce, a historian and teacher from Huntsville, Texas, who also
served as the volunteer caretaker of a repository of prison related materials
known as the
The Department of Criminal Justice records in this collection are crime summaries, lists of people scheduled to be present at executions, schedules of activities of inmates during their final 24 hours, final statements of inmates, mug shots, inventories of inmates' property, information about death row and the execution process, various lists of death row inmates, and autopsies. Other materials created and collected by Dr. Robert Pierce include clippings, transcripts of oral interviews conducted with death row inmates, papers, speeches, and lists of prison officials. Dates covered are 1877, 1963, 1978-1979, 1982-1995, undated. Most of the files contain information about inmates on Texas' death row executed between 1982 and 1995. The remainder of the files, primarily papers, speeches, and some clippings, concern a variety of prison topics, such as textile production during the Civil War, and prison bureaucracy.
The materials in this collection were gathered together by Dr. Robert
P. Pierce, the volunteer caretaker of a repository of prison related materials
known as the
Some of the materials in the collection were created and maintained by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and were turned over to Dr. Robert Pierce; others were created by Dr. Pierce or were sent to him by outside sources. Determining the origin of each document is not possible. The files remain as received.
To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.
The records are organized into two series:
Laura K. Saegert, October 1999
Accession number: 1998/261
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 November 17, 1997.
The Department of Criminal Justice records in this collection are crime summaries, lists of people scheduled to be present at executions, schedules of activities of inmates during their final 24 hours, final statements of inmates, mug shots, inventories of inmates' property on hand when they were executed, general information about death row and the execution process, a list of inmates who had been executed, a list of those scheduled to be executed, a table listing all the inmates on death row, and a table listing the last meals requested by death row inmates. Other materials present include clippings about crimes and executions, and transcripts of oral interviews conducted with death row inmates. Dates covered are 1982-1995, undated. Not all of these materials are present for every inmate covered in this series. Some information - clippings and/or crime summaries - is available for a few inmates who were on death row but not executed during this time period, such as Kenneth Allen McDuff.
This series was created when the Texas Department of Corrections
(TDC), later the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), began using
lethal injection as the form of execution, in 1982. A former caretaker of the
These files are arranged in alphabetical order, in two groups. The first group contains general information about death row and the execution process, and various lists of death row inmates and executions. The next group contains files on inmates executed or scheduled for execution during the time period covered, 1982-1995. The folder titles of the inmate files provide the inmate's name, death row number, and date of execution or the scheduled date of execution. Unless noted as a scheduled date, the execution took place on the date listed. Those inmates with only a scheduled date noted were granted a stay of execution. They were either executed after 1995, had their sentence commuted, or they are still on death row. The files extend through late 1995. Information about death row inmates after that date must be obtained from the Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville.
(Identify the item), Death row files, Death row files and assorted prison records and papers, Dr. Robert P. Pierce Collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
[inmates on death row as of that date]
[inmates on death row as of that date]
[inmates on death row as of that date]
[inmates on death row as of that date]
[no scheduled or actual execution date given, his name is not present on the list of those executed through 1995]
This series contains prison related materials, including essays - both by researchers and inmates - on topics such as textile production in the penitentiary during the Civil War and prison bureaucracy; lists of prison officials; and clippings on notorious inmates. Department of Criminal Justice records present in this series are speeches by prison officials, and a few autopsies of prisoners. Dates covered are 1877, 1963, 1978-1979, 1984-1995, and undated.
Files are organized in three groups and arranged alphabetically within each group. The first group contains various lists of officials; speeches; papers, columns, and other writings. The next group consists of clippings files on notorious inmates. The last group is the autopsies, which are filed separately due to their confidential nature.
(Identify the item), Assorted prison records and papers, Death row files and assorted prison records and papers, Dr. Robert P. Pierce Collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Access to the autopsies is restricted for 100 years by the Medical Practice Act, Vernon's Ann. Civ. St., Article 4495b, Section 5.08 (d). Autopsies dated 1985 will be available for research in 2085; those dated 1986 will be available in 2086.