Mark W. Michael Unit

Mark W. Michael Unit
Interactive map of Mark W. Michael Unit
Location
StatusOperational
Security classG1-G5, Administrative Segregation, Outside Trusty, Safekeeping
CapacityUnit: 2,984 Trusty Camp: 321
OpenedSeptember 1987
Managed byTDCJ Correctional Institutions Division
WardenMartin
Websitewww.tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory../mi.html
Aerial view of the Coffield Prison Farm Property (The Michael, Beto, Coffield, Gurney, and Powledge units)
1977 United States Geological Survey map of the land which now houses the Michael Unit

The Mark W. Michael Unit (MI) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice men's prison located in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas. The unit is along Farm to Market Road 2054, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Tennessee Colony. The unit, on 20,518 acres (8,303 ha) of land, is co-located with the Beto, Coffield, and Powledge prison units and the Gurney Transfer Unit. The unit is in proximity to Palestine and the Rusk ironworks, and it is in about a one-hour driving distance from Dallas.

The Michael Unit opened in September 1987. Texas officials referred to the facility as "model for the future." Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, described Michael as "one of the meanest lockups" in Texas.

Operations

Michael was one of the first prisons to no longer use the "telephone-pole" layout, which has central pickets with dead-end cell blocks extending from them. The telephone-pole layout, while inexpensive to build, is difficult to police without "building tenders" (convicts paid to police other convicts). Instead, Michael uses a modular pod design, which allows for riot control and visual surveillance. Most pods have double-bunk, reinforced concrete cells with security features such as slit windows and bolted-down metal toilets. Some pods have dormitories. Michael was one of several new prisons to have the ability to have many prisoners in extended lockdowns. State officials said that Michael's features allowing for extended lockdowns of prisoners were modeled on the United States Penitentiary, Marion.

Notable prisoners

Current:

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Shannon Miles 07462349 / 02150490 Serving a life sentence without parole. Perpetrator of the 2015 Murder of Darren Goforth, in which Miles killed him at a gas station.
Matt Baker 01634552 Serving a 65-year sentence. Former pastor who murdered his wife Kari Baker.
Christian Cavazos aka “Guero10k” & “Houston’s top crash out” 02525215 Serving a life sentence. Former “rapper” who was found guilty of murdering 5 people, 2 being an elderly couple he mistook as gang members.


Former:

References

  1. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Anderson County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 17 (PDF p. 18/41). Retrieved 2022-08-14. Mark W Michael Unit
  2. 1 2 "Michael Unit Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.
  4. 1 2 Rhor, Monica. "Serial killer wrestles with his crimes." Fox News. Sunday June 8, 2008. Retrieved on December 12, 2010. "Henley, who turned 52 in May, sits behind a glass divider in the visiting room at the Michael Unit, a Texas prison set amid cow pastures and sprawling ranches about an hour south of Dallas."
  5. ↑ Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 314-315. ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.
  6. ↑ Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.
  7. 1 2 3 Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.
  8. ↑ Perkinson, Robert. Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.
  9. ↑ "Texas Deputy Slaying: Suspect Shannon Miles Charged in Killing of Darren Goforth". NBC News. 2015-08-30. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  10. ↑ "Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Texas Deputy At Gas Station - CBS Texas". www.cbsnews.com. 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  11. ↑ "Shannon Miles gets life in prison for murder of Deputy Goforth". KPRC. 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  12. ↑ "Waco's beloved minister, after nearly 20 years, still claims he isn't guilty of murdering his wife - ABC News". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  13. ↑ "Inmate Information Details - BAKER, MATT DEE". inmate.tdcj.texas.gov.
  14. ↑ "Documented gang member Christian Cavazos sentenced to life for Houston murder spree that claimed 5 lives, charging docs say - ABC13 Houston". abc13.com. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  15. ↑ "Inmate Information Details - CAVAZOS, CHRISTIAN IVAN". inmate.tdcj.texas.gov.
  16. ↑ Colloff, Pamela (December 2012). "The Innocent Man, Part Two". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  17. ↑ Day, Elizabeth. "I love you Phillip Morris: a conman's story." The Observer. Sunday September 6, 2009. Retrieved on December 10, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Henley, Elmer Wayne Jr" (Archive). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.

31°47′41″N 95°54′11″W / 31.79472°N 95.90306°W / 31.79472; -95.90306