United States · TX · Huntsville
Huntsville
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Huntsville
Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by Oldsclphoto13 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Photo by WhisperToMe via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Mark Britain from Houston, USA via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Photo by Nick DiFonzo from Houston, Texas via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Photo by Larry D. Moore via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Photo by Unknown authorUnknown author via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Latourette, A. V. -- Photographer via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Latourette, A. V. -- Photographer via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
State prison operated by Texas Department of Criminal Justice. TDCJ Region I. Capacity ~1,090. Custody levels housed: G1-G3, Security Detention, Transient.
Background
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately 54.36-acre (22.00 ha) facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Institutions Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The facility, the oldest Texas state prison, opened in 1849. The unit houses the execution chamber of the State of Texas. It is the most active execution chamber in the United States, with 600 (as of May 18, 2026) executions since 1982, when the death penalty was reinstated in Texas (see Lists of people executed in Texas).
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
1,090
Current population
—
Occupancy
—
Year opened
1849
Closed 2013
Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology
Facility profile
Population held
male
Opened
1849
Region
TX
Security level
Maximum
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
No conditions summary available yet.
Visiting
No visiting information available.
Mailing
No mailing information available.
Practical info
Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.
Known issues
The source mentions a twice-yearly rodeo on the grounds of Angola where prisoners would nearly get gored by massive bulls in front of crowds.
Notable inmates
- Frank Jones1900–1969 · artist
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Henry Lee Lucas1936–2001 · criminalHenry Lee Lucas (August 23, 1936 â March 12, 2001), also known as The Confession Killer, was an American convicted murderer.
Ronald Clark O'Bryan1944–1984 · optician
Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 0/30
- Oversight reports
- 0/30
- Structural flags
- 5/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Substantial documented known-issues record
This facility scores 5. The national average across 7,437 scored United States facilities is 2 — 3 points above national average.
Related facilities
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
- Woodman State JailGatesvilleMaximumState prison720% occupancy
- Centinela State Prison (Cen)ImperialMaximumState prison150% occupancy
- Kern Valley State Prison (Kvsp)DelanoMaximumState prison152% occupancy
- Diagnostic And Evaluation CenterLincolnMaximumState prison178% occupancy
- High Desert State Prison (Hdsp)SusanvilleMaximumState prison152% occupancy
- Calipatria State Prison (Cal)CalipatriaMaximumState prison161% occupancy
Compared to other facilities in United States
7436 peersReports
- marshall-project14 Dec 2015
come to the realization that changing a man’s heart in a positive way is beneficial in making that person a productive member of society,” Jim Willett, the longtime warden of the Huntsville Unit in Texas, told me. Cain’s legacy is perhaps best captured in the twice-yearly rodeo he oversaw on the grounds of Angola, where prisoners would nearly get gored by massive bulls in front of crowds of
Data completeness
68%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- TDCJ unit page â Huntsville
- TDCJ unit directory
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap Contributors
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice â unit directory — State of Texas
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata (Q686494)
- Wikipedia
- Wikimedia Commons
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
World Prisons. (2026). Huntsville. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/huntsville-unit-in-texas
"Huntsville." World Prisons. Accessed October 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/huntsville-unit-in-texas.
@misc{worldprisons-huntsville-unit-in-texas,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {Huntsville},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/huntsville-unit-in-texas},
urldate = {2026-10-21}
}