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greg · #1 10-12-2004, 11:11 PM

can anyone enlighten me on life in the terrell unit ay rosharon tx?

lablover · #2 08-17-2010, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greg

can anyone enlighten me on life in the terrell unit ay rosharon tx?

Well, my best friend is there. He had been sent all over before he ended up in Terrell. He said it is like a dorm type set-up. There's no a/c. He does have a job where there is a/c so he gets most of the day there. He said there are people there that have 50 year sentences. They do have a t.v., and he said it's usually on the news station. It sounds like there are older inmates there. He can go outside also. I hope this little bit helps, I'm still learning myself. Take care, good luck with your loved one.

TxHawker · #3 08-20-2010, 08:14 AM

There are several posts on here about life at Terrell. As Lablover said, it’s dorm-style and each inmate has a small cubicle with a bunk and writing desk. Terrell is part of the agricultural portion of TDCJ’s self-supporting system- they mostly can vegetables raised on other units. It is (jokingly) referred to as the “Geriatric Unit” because they do house a lot of the older and infirm inmates in the system there. It is a minimum security facility, which is good. The guards (at least the ones I’ve dealt with) have all be polite and friendly. My buddy who is incarcerated there says it’s fairly laid back and MUCH better than some of the other units he was in. One huge downside is that they have almost no educational classes. They offer GED and two trades: welding and electrical. However, if your family member already has a high school or higher education, he will go to the bottom of the list. The one real negative about Terrell is the food- it’s god-awful and they frequently run out of whatever it is that they are serving. My buddy purchased peanut butter and crackers at the commissary and keeps them in his locker for the really bad food days. Terrell underwent a real shake up a couple of years ago- a lot of graft and corruption was going on that apparently included the warden. He was relieved and I think they just recently got a new warden. We’re hoping we’ll try eating at the cafeteria. J Because a lot of the inmates are old, there is sometimes a lot of squabbling in the dorms. But it beats fist fights. They have a good church program and a really good chaplain that can help inmate families- you can call the main number and ask to speak to him. Medical stuff isn’t that great but I don’t think it is in any Texas prison. I think most inmates can do OK there so long as they are respectful to the guards, do their jobs and keep their nose clean.

grandmudder · #4 08-22-2010, 10:16 PM

I have to say this. My husband has a GED and got into the welding program pretty quickly. From what he has told me they only put people in the vocational classes that are relatively close to parole. He really wanted the course and is thrilled to be in it. But it is hard as he hasn't been exposed to math in a long time and he is struggling with that. It is a unit for older inmates with medical problems. That is most of the reason the food is so bad. No seasoning due to all the guys with high blood pressure. Now the worst thing is the level of drugs in the unit. My husband says that the drugs are rampant there and the worse he's ever seen.

TxHawker · #5 08-23-2010, 07:43 AM

Interesting. My buddy has been to see the doc twice for severe stomach issues and both times they refused to give him anything! I think everyone's experience is pretty different in prison and different people see things in a unique light. Yep he's told me the food is pretty bland, and your comment about probably no salt, etc. due to inmates with high blood pressure makes absolute sense- just like hospital cafeteria food. But actually his biggest complaint is that they just flat run OUT of food- like whoever is in charge of cooking can't count the number of men vs. porkchops!

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandmudder

I have to say this. My husband has a GED and got into the welding program pretty quickly. From what he has told me they only put people in the vocational classes that are relatively close to parole. He really wanted the course and is thrilled to be in it. But it is hard as he hasn't been exposed to math in a long time and he is struggling with that. It is a unit for older inmates with medical problems. That is most of the reason the food is so bad. No seasoning due to all the guys with high blood pressure. Now the worst thing is the level of drugs in the unit. My husband says that the drugs are rampant there and the worse he's ever seen.

**Lorraine** · #6 08-23-2010, 07:58 AM

The population is a bit older and most inmates here have a sentence of 20-40yrs. The two biggest crimes for the unit are burglary and child sex offenses. My husband says the CO's can get pretty nasty sometimes because they know there's a lot of SO's housed there. I haven't had any personal problems with the CO's at visit, but my guy has had his share of problems with them. They write cases like none other, so mind your P's and Q's. I also heard recently from a CO there that the commissary manager was walked off after being caught hooking up with inmates.

Running out of food is my guy's biggest complaint about the food there. His dorm goes to chow last and he says pretty much every single day they have run out of something or another. They do have a lot more fresh fruit at this unit than any other unit he's been to, so that is a bright side.

As far as medical, my dude is clumsy and he plays hard and he is always banged up in some form or fashion. He's down in medical on a regular basis and has been sent to Galveston prison hospital a couple of times and I have to say, they always do what they can for him. It's obviously not as good as free world healthcare, but they've been decent to him so I have no major complaints.

My husband is also in welding now. It took 8mo to get him in there, but he is not a priority inmate since he's not within 5yrs of release. He's glad to be in the class, but he says they aren't doing any actual welding because they went over budget and can't afford to buy any welding rods until the new fiscal year starts next month. I guess we can't really complain about that because everyone's having budget problems. I just hope they come through with it in September and the guys actually learn how to weld.