Darrington Unit

The Darrington Unit (DA) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) men's prison located in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas,[1] near Sandy Point,[2] and with a Rosharon, Texas postal address; it is not inside the Rosharon census-designated place.[3] The unit is along Farm to Market Road 521, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Rosharon,[1] and about 30 miles (48 km) south of Downtown Houston.[4] The prison has about 6,770 acres (2,740 ha) of land. The prison has the Region III Administrative Office of the Windham School District.[1]

Darrington Unit
Location59 Darrington Road
Rosharon, Texas 77583
Coordinates29.3995500°N 095.4907500°W / 29.3995500; -095.4907500
StatusOperational
Security classG1-G5, Administrative Segregation, Outside Trusty, Transient
CapacityUnit: 1,610 Trusty Camp: 321
Opened1933
Managed byTDCJ Correctional Institutions Division
WardenBruce Armstrong
CountyBrazoria County
CountryUSA
Websitewww.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory../da.html
Aerial photograph, U.S. Geological Survey – January 25, 1995
Topographic map, U.S. Geological Survey – July 1, 1984

History

The unit opened in 1917.[1] The TDCJ believes that the unit was named after the original landowners of the area occupied by the prison.[5] The song "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" was first recorded by John A. Lomax in 1934 at Darrington, sung by "Sin-Killer" Griffin who claimed authorship.[2] In 1935 Darrington housed African American prisoners.[6]

In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed white second offenders.[7] In the late 1980s, Darrington housed a lot of leaders of prison gangs. In 1986 and 1987 a 12-foot (3.7 m) high gunwalk was built, overseeing 13 recreation yards; the walk allows prison guards to easily shoot and kill raging prisoners.[8]

In 2017 a judge ordered the installation of air conditioning.[4]

Operations

The Darrington Unit is within the attendance zone of the Alvin Community College. Darrington was included through H.B. No. 2744,[9] filed on March 6, 2007.[10]

Notable prisoners

References
  1. "Darrington Unit Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
  2. Hinckley, D. (2008-09-12). "Singing up a 'Mighty Storm' in Galveston". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  3. "2010 CENSUS – CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Rosharon CDP, TX." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 21, 2018.
  4. https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/20/texas-prison-heat-air-conditioning-lawsuit/
  5. "1995 Annual Report." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.
  6. Trulson, Chad R., James W. Marquart, and Ben M. Crouch. First Available Cell: Desegregation of the Texas Prison System. University of Texas Press, 2009. 81. Retrieved from Google Books on July 16, 2010. ISBN 0-292-71983-3, ISBN 978-0-292-71983-5.
  7. Trulson, Chad R., James W. Marquart, and Ben M. Crouch. First Available Cell: Desegregation of the Texas Prison System. University of Texas Press, 2009. 82. Retrieved from Google Books on July 16, 2010. ISBN 0-292-71983-3, ISBN 978-0-292-71983-5.
  8. Toth, John. "Prison guards will `shoot to kill' inmates to stop deadly violence of gangs" (). Houston Chronicle. Sunday September 21, 1986. Section 3, Page 1. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  9. "H.B. No. 2744." Texas Legislature. Retrieved on March 11, 2011. "(3) the territory located in Brazoria County, situated to the west of the Alvin Community College District boundary as it existed on January 1, 2003, extending west to the eastern border of Fort Bend County, and south to County Roads 49, 34, and 255, including the City of Rosharon and the Darrington and Ramsey Units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice."
  10. "Bill: HB 2744." Texas Legislature. Retrieved on March 11, 2011.
  11. "Graham, David Christopher" (Archive). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.
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