Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Agency History

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) manages offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities that contract with TDCJ. The agency also provides funding and oversight of community supervision and is responsible for the supervision of offenders released from prison on parole or mandatory supervision. The Department of Criminal Justice came into being in 1848 when “An Act to Establish a State Penitentiary” was passed by the 2nd Texas Legislature. The act established a governing body of the penitentiary as a three-member board of directors, appointed by the governor, with the approval of the senate. The board was responsible for creating and distributing a set of rules and bylaws for the administration of the penitentiary, overseeing the treatment of convicts, preparing an annual inventory of property, and making an annual report to the governor.

Texas Department of Corrections: Carrasco Audiotapes and Booklet, 1974

Carrasco Audiotapes and Booklet

Creator: Texas. Department of Corrections
Title: Department of Corrections Carrasco audiotapes and booklet
Dates: 1974
Abstract: The Texas Department of Corrections (TDC) was responsible for the operation of the prison system from 1957 to 1989, when that function was absorbed by the newly created Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Records in this series are audiocassette tapes from the Carrasco hostage incident that occurred at the Huntsville Unit education and library facility, dating from July 27 to August 12, 1974, and a booklet about the event published that same year by the TDC. The dates of the audiotapes cover most of the eleven-day incident (July 24–August 3) and include the post-incident interviews (August 7–12). The incident, also known as the “Huntsville Siege,” involved three inmates—Fred Gomez Carrasco, Rudy S. Dominguez, and Ignacio Cuevas, who took hostages and made a number of demands to prison officials in exchange for their freedom. The incident ended with the deaths of two female hostages, the wounding of other hostages, and the deaths of inmate gunmen Carrasco and Dominguez.

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State Penitentiary Board monthly reports, 1881-1883

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