The Texas Department of Criminal Justice or TDCJ has several units. Talking about the units of TDCJ, you may be wondering about the biggest one. So, what is the biggest TDCJ unit?
For anyone who is wondering about the biggest TDCJ unit, the answer is the Coffield Unit. This one has a capacity of 4,021 inmates. If you are interested about this biggest TDCJ unit, make sure to check out the following information.
Read also: Ellis Unit and Polunsky Unit
Details:
- Official Name: H.H. Coffield Unit (CO)
- Location: 2661 FM 2054 Tennessee Colony, Texas 75884
- Coordinates: 31.7906000°N 095.8932667°W
- Status: Operational
- Security Class: G1-G4, Administrative Segregation, Outside Trusty
- Capacity: Unit: 3,818 Trusty Camp: 321
- Date Opened: June 1965
- Managed by: TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division
- Warden: Juan Garcia
- County: Anderson County
- Country: United States
- Website: www.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/co.html
The biggest TDCJ unit called the Coffield Unit has the official name of the H. H. Coffield Unit or CO. This one opened in June 1965. This prison houses men in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas. It is located close to Tennessee Colony. It is along Farm to Market Road 2054. The correctional facility that is on a 20,518 acres or 8,303 ha plot of land is co-located with Beto, Gurney, Michael, and Powledge units.
The H. H. Coffield Unit (CO) or Coffield Unit is such an interesting unit. It has housing for employees. So, these employees can live there along with the inmates to watch them out. In the past, there was a mental product plant called the Stiles Unit. The operations of it were merged with those of Coffield and Powledge Unit. Unfortunately, it was closed in 2011. Another fun fact about this prison is that there was the first prison campus of Gateway Church opened inside Coffield. It was in early 2019.
As stated before, the biggest TDCJ unit is the Coffield Unit for male with the capacity of 4,021 inmates. As for females, the biggest one is the Christina Crain Unit with a capacity of 2,013 inmates. Keep reading to find out more about this unit.
Details:
- Official Name: Christina Melton Crain Unit
- Location: 1401 State School Road Gatesville, Texas 76599-2999
- Coordinates: 31.4713889°N 097.7405556°W
- Status: Operational
- Security Class: G1-G5, Transient, Outside Trusty, Developmentally Disabled, Substance Abuse
- Capacity: Unit: 1,498; Boot Camp: 8 SAFP: 288; Trusty Camp: 321
- Date Opened: August 1980
- Managed by: TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division
- Warden: Kimberly Garza
- County: Coryell County
- Country: United States
- Website: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory../gv.html
- Notable Inmates: Celeste Beard, Vickie Dawn Jackson, Debra Jeter (current), Krystal Maddox, Yolanda Saldivar, Lisa Warzeka, Susan Wright (former)
The Christina Melton Crain Unit used to be called the Gatesville Unit as it was formed on portions of the former Gatesville State School that was named after the city of Gatesville. As for the Christina Melton Crain Unit name, it was after the first female chairperson of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice named Christina Melton Crain. At the time, the name change became effective right away. The woman was a resident of the Preston Hollow area of Dallas. She was there working as a lawyer. Then, she left the Texas Board of Criminal Justice in May 2008.
The Christina Crain Unit is located in Gatesville, Texas. The exact location is along Texas State Highway 36, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of central Gatesville. It is about 1,317 acres or 533 ha of space. The prison is co-located with the Hilltop Unit, the Dr. Lane Murray Unit, and the Linda Woodman Unit. It is also close to the Maintain View Unit, the one that houses all female inmates on death row in Texas.
Just like the Coffield Unit, the Christina Crain Unit is also interesting. One of the things that make this prison interesting is the fact that it has a rich assortment of programming compared to most prisons in Texas. It was said by an author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire named Robert Perkinson. In the unit, there is a female boot camp. Not only that, it also includes a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment or SAFP facility.
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