Jester I Unit

The Beauford H. Jester I Unit (J1) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice substance abuse felony punishment facility (SAFPF) located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas. The unit is situated at Harlem Road and Ken Drive, on about 940 acres (380 ha) of land, co-located with Carol Vance Unit, Jester III Unit, and Jester IV Unit which lie a little to its southeast. It is situated on the Jester State Prison Farm property. The current Warden is Lonnie Townsend.[1]

Aerial view of the Jester State Prison Farm, January 27, 2002, U.S. Geographic Survey
Topographical map of the Jester Prison Farm, the Central Prison Farm, and Sugar Land Regional Airport, July 1, 1990, U.S. Geological Survey

History

The unit opened in 1885, and its first brick building was in 1932.[1]

The unit was originally known as the Harlem I Unit. Under the administration of George Beto, the unit was converted into a pre-release facility.[2] The unit was renamed after Governor of Texas Beauford H. Jester.[3]

In 1935 Jester housed white prisoners.[4] In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed Hispanic and Latino American first-time offenders and prisoners considered by the administration to have good rehabilitative prospects.[5]

Effective 2020, the Jester I and Garza East Unit is slated for closure with a planned transfer of the Jester I inmates to the Stringfellow Unit.[6][7][8]

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References
  1. "Jester I Unit. Retrieved on March 9, 2020.
  2. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company, 2004. 45. ISBN 1-56311-964-1, ISBN 978-1-56311-964-4. "Harlem Unit (Jester Unit)"
  3. Texas Dept of Criminal Justice. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company. 2004. 91.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. McCullough, Jolie (2020-02-20). "As the Texas prison population shrinks, the state is closing two more lockups". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  7. "The Texas Department of Criminal Justice to close two prison units in 2020". TDCJ News. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  8. Shoop, Claire (2020-02-21). "Jester I Unit, an adult prison in Richmond, will close in 2020". Community Impact Newspaper. Retrieved 2020-03-09.

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