Mountain View Unit

Mountain View Unit

Aerial photograph of the prisons in Gatesville, January 13, 1996, United States Geological Survey

Mountain View Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison housing female offenders in Gatesville, Texas. The unit, with about 97 acres (39 ha) of land, is located 4 miles (6.4 km) north of central Gatesville on Farm to Market Road 215.^[1] The prison is located in a 45 minute driving distance from Waco.^[2] In addition to its other functions, Mountain View 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 60 square feet (5.6 m²), with each cell having a window. They do not have recreation individually. They are allowed to watch television, and all have a radio.

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 Frances Newton, executed on 14 September 2005.

Among the better known death row offenders at Mountain View are Linda Carty, Brittany Holberg, and Darlie Routier.

A notable woman in the prison is Yolanda Saldivar, the murderer of Tejano superstar, Selena. Saldivar shot and killed her on March 31, 1995, in Selena's hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. Saldivar is sentenced to life imprisonment. She is eligible for parole in March 2025. While interviewed for a VH1 Behind the Music episode about Selena in 1998, Jim Forbes asked her why she killed her because he, Selena's family and fans wanted to know. Saldivar responded "I won't discuss that". Due to Saldivar receiving many death threats from incarcerated Selena fans she is in isolation at the prison.^{[citation needed]}

The facility is not signposted from the area main highway.^[3]

History

Topographical map of the Gatesville prison units (Mountain View, Christina Crain, Hilltop, and Hughes), U.S. Geological Survey, 1994

The Mountain View State School closed in 1975, and its boys were sent to other facilities. The Texas Department of Corrections bought the land and buildings. The facility re-opened as a women's prison.^[4] The Mountain View Unit opened in July 1975.^[5]

Around 2001 several inmates at Mountain View were in a Windham School District effort to translate textbooks into braille.^[6]

Operation

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." In regards to the name Hill stated "But there is no mountain, and from the prison's death row, there is no view."^[7] The female death row inmates may participate in a work program and have limited viewing of a television located outside of their cells.^[5] Each death row inmate may have limited association with the other inmates. The women on death row are permitted to knit and sew.^[7] The current death row building opened in 2000. Amy Dorsett of the San Antonio Express-News said that the facility has "gleaming white walls, sun-filled cells and a decorative recreation room."^[8]

Notable inmates

Death row:

• Betty Lou Beets^[9] - Executed on February 24, 2000.^[10]
• Linda Carty^[7]
• Brittany Holberg^[11]
• Frances Newton^[12] - Executed on September 14, 2005^[13]
• Darlie Routier^[14]
• Karla Faye Tucker^[15] - Executed on February 3, 1998^[13]

Non-death row:

• Yolanda Saldívar^[16]
• Kimberly Trenor (perpetrator of the murder of Riley Ann Sawyers)^[17]
• Diane Zamora^[18]
• Marcia Kelly
• Celeste Beard Johnson

See also

Texas portal

• Capital punishment in Texas

References

1. ^ "Mountain View Unit." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.
2. ^ Krajicek, David. "On Death Row." Sue Basso, Crime Library. Retrieved on October 18, 2010.
3. ^ Hannaford, Alex. "'I'm not afraid of dying. I'm just angry'." The Guardian. Monday July 26, 2004. Retrieved on September 26, 2010.
4. ^ "Mountain View School for Boys." Handbook of Texas. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
5. ^ ^{a b} Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company, 2004. 100. ISBN 1563119641, 9781563119644.
6. ^ "News Briefs." Windham School District. 3rd Quarter of 2002. Retrieved on May 30, 2010.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Hill, Ruth. "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.
8. ^ Dorsett, Amy. "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.
9. ^ "Betty Lou Beets." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.
10. ^ "Last Statement - Betty Lou Beets." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.
11. ^ "Offender Information Detail Holberg, Brittany Marlowe." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. Enter the TDCJ number "00999258" or the SID "5149809."
12. ^ Tilghman, Andrew. "Woman faces execution, but not without a fight." Houston Chronicle. November 29, 2004. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
13. ^ ^{a b} "Executed Offenders." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
14. ^ Hollandsworth, Skip. "Maybe Darlie Didn't Do It." Texas Monthly. July 2002. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
15. ^ "Karla Faye Tucker: Born again on death row." CNN. March 26, 2007. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
16. ^ "Offender Information Detail Saldivar, Yolanda." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 30, 2009. Enter the SID "05422564."
17. ^ "Offender Search." -- Enter "Kimberly Trenor ". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on January 22, 2010.
18. ^ "Offender Information Detail Zamora, Diane." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 30, 2009. Enter the SID "05713081."

External links

• Mountain View Unit - Texas Department of Criminal Justice
• List of prisoners at the Mountain View Unit - The Texas Tribune