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United States · TX · Livingston

Polunsky

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How to send mail, money, and visit Polunsky

Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

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Photograph of Polunsky

State prison operated by Texas Department of Criminal Justice. TDCJ Region I. Capacity ~2,984. Custody levels housed: G1-G5, Death Row, Security Detention, Mental Health.

Background

Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the facility. The unit houses the State of Texas death row for men, and it has a maximum capacity of 2,900. Livingston Municipal Airport is located on the other side of FM 350. Polunsky was named after Allan B. Polunsky, a former chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice and former chairman of the Public Safety Commission, the governing board of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

2,984

Current population

—

Occupancy

—

Year opened

1993

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1993

Region

TX

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

The Allan B. Polunsky Unit has been reported to have broken toilets and insufficient blankets, with prisoners facing frigid temperatures. Inadequate heating has led to sanitation issues, including prisoners using snow to flush dorm toilets and defecating in unsanitary conditions.

Visiting

No visiting information available.

Mailing

No mailing information available.

Practical info

Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.

Known issues

The facility houses death row inmates, including high-profile cases such as Ramy Hozaifeh, John Henry Ramirez, and Rodney Reed. Physical conditions have been described as poor, with reports of broken infrastructure and inadequate warmth during cold weather events.

Notable inmates

  • Raymond Riles
    1950

    Raymond George Riles (born June 1, 1950) is an American convicted murderer who was on death row in Texas from 1976 until he was resentenced to life imprisonment in June 2021.

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

3872 FM 350 South, Livingston 77351
(936) 967-8082
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

11/100
Low concern11/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
1/30
Structural flags
5/15
Death signals
5/15
Conditions text
0/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
  • · Substantial documented known-issues record
  • · In-custody-death signal in sources

This facility scores 11. The national average across 7,437 scored United States facilities is 2 — 9 points above national average.

Related facilities

All in United States →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Compared to other facilities in United States

7436 peers
Capacity (beds)this: 2984 · peers avg: 547 (+446%)

Reports

  • marshall-project20 Dec 2021

    ue-in-cheek: Like most of his listeners, Megamind doesn’t have a room. He lives on a metal bunk in a maximum security prison, and his real name is Ramy Hozaifeh. To the men in the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, he is best known as a regular voice on 106.5 FM The Tank, the prison’s own radio station. Death Sentences The death penalty is in flux. These are the stories that you need to know about capital

    source

  • marshall-project7 Sept 2021

    Die? As a Texas man sues for his pastor to touch him during his execution, a guide to rights for the condemned. John Henry Ramirez, who is incarcerated on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, in Livingston, Texas, on Sept. 1, 2021. Michael Starghill for The Marshall Project John Henry Ramirez does not want to die alone. The Texas prisoner knows that at his execution, scheduled for Wednesday

    source

  • marshall-project16 Jul 2021

    eality TV star — raises questions about celebrities’ role in the criminal justice system. Rodney Reed, pictured here meeting with TV celebrity Dr. Phil, is on death row at the Polunsky Unit in Texas. His case has drawn the support of Kim Kardashian West, Beyoncé, Oprah and Gigi Hadid. Peteski Productions/CBS W hen death row prisoner Rodney Reed found out his execution had been called off — only

    source

  • marshall-project19 Feb 2021

    de Frigid Texas Prisons: Broken Toilets, Disgusting Food, Few Blankets The deep freeze has been terrible for many Texans, but prisoners have little way to get warm. At the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, prisoners have told their families that they have gathered snow into buckets so that they can flush dorm toilets. Bob Owen/Houston Chronicle, via Associated Press Prisoners are defecating in

    source

Data completeness

78%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Polunsky. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/allan-b-polunsky-unit
Chicago
"Polunsky." World Prisons. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/allan-b-polunsky-unit.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-allan-b-polunsky-unit,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Polunsky},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/allan-b-polunsky-unit},
  urldate = {2026-10-15}
}