Clemens Unit
Encyclopedia
Clemens Unit is a prison farm
of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(TDCJ) in unincorporated
Brazoria County, Texas
. The prison, with about 8008 square foot, is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2004
and Texas State Highway 36. The prison, in the Texas Gulf Coast region, is in proximity to the City of Brazoria
, and it is in proximity to the Velasco
community, now a part of Freeport
. The prison is situated south of Houston.
The state later added a neighboring plantation, making Clemens have 8212 acres (3,323.3 ha) of land. The state purchased additional acreage, bringing the prison to a total of 8116 acres (3,284.4 ha). In 1935 Clemens housed African American prisoners. In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed first offender African Americans.
In the mid-1990s the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(TDCJ) removed older violent offenders from the institution and replaced them with younger offenders; most of them were 25 or younger. The administration segregated younger prisoners from the other ones; the younger prisoners were put in what the inmates called a "kiddie farm." In 1995 the State of Texas lowered its minimum age in which a juvenile can be tried as an adult from 15 to 14. In response, Wayne Scott, the executive director of the TDCJ, established the Youth Offender Program, housing prisoners who arrived as 14- to 16-year-olds and were sentenced as adults, new arrivals into the TDCJ from ages 17–20, and prisoners transferred out of the Texas Youth Commission
who are ages 16–18 and had received determinate sentences.
A prisoner named Rodney Hulin
reported being raped by fellow inmates
around his age after his November 1995 transfer to a division for younger offenders in Clemens. Hulin committed suicide afterwards. He became a symbol of a movement that advocated not placing juvenile offenders in adult institutions.
Prison farm
A prison farm is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are put to economical use in a 'farm' , usually for manual labour, largely in open air, such as in agriculture, logging, quarrying, etc...
of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...
(TDCJ) in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Brazoria County, Texas
Brazoria County, Texas
Brazoria County[p] is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located on the Gulf Coast within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Regionally, parts of the county are within the extreme southern-most fringe of the regions locally known as Southeast Texas. Brazoria County is among a...
. The prison, with about 8008 square foot, is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2004
Farm to Market Road 2004
Farm to Market Road 2004 is a farm to market road in Brazoria and Galveston counties, Texas.-Route description:FM 2004 begins near the village of Jones Creek and the TDCJ Clemens Unit prison, at an intersection with ; the roadway past SH 36 is...
and Texas State Highway 36. The prison, in the Texas Gulf Coast region, is in proximity to the City of Brazoria
Brazoria, Texas
Brazoria is a city of Brazoria County in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 2,787.Brazoria was originally founded as a port for Stephen F...
, and it is in proximity to the Velasco
Velasco, Texas
Velasco was a town in Texas, United States, that was later annexed by the city of Freeport. Founded in 1831, Velasco is situated on the east side of the Brazos River in southeast Texas. It is sixteen miles south of Angleton, Texas, and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico.The town's early history is...
community, now a part of Freeport
Freeport, Texas
Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is situated in Southeast Texas. As of the 2000 U.S...
. The prison is situated south of Houston.
History
In 1890 William C. Clemens, the chairperson of the Texas Prison Board, purchased an initial parcel of land from the Huntington Estate for $4,126. The prison, named after Clemens, opened in 1893. The State of Texas bought the entire prison, then 5527 acres (2,236.7 ha), in 1899. The property included the William Clemens mill and sugar plantation. The prison was the first state prison in Brazoria County.The state later added a neighboring plantation, making Clemens have 8212 acres (3,323.3 ha) of land. The state purchased additional acreage, bringing the prison to a total of 8116 acres (3,284.4 ha). In 1935 Clemens housed African American prisoners. In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed first offender African Americans.
In the mid-1990s the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...
(TDCJ) removed older violent offenders from the institution and replaced them with younger offenders; most of them were 25 or younger. The administration segregated younger prisoners from the other ones; the younger prisoners were put in what the inmates called a "kiddie farm." In 1995 the State of Texas lowered its minimum age in which a juvenile can be tried as an adult from 15 to 14. In response, Wayne Scott, the executive director of the TDCJ, established the Youth Offender Program, housing prisoners who arrived as 14- to 16-year-olds and were sentenced as adults, new arrivals into the TDCJ from ages 17–20, and prisoners transferred out of the Texas Youth Commission
Texas Youth Commission
The Texas Youth Commission is a Texas state agency which operates juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission is headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin...
who are ages 16–18 and had received determinate sentences.
A prisoner named Rodney Hulin
Suicide of Rodney Hulin
Rodney Hulin, Jr. hanged himself in the Clemens Unit in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas on January 26, 1996 after being raped in prison; Hulin died months after he fatally injured himself...
reported being raped by fellow inmates
Prison rape
Prison rape commonly refers to the rape of inmates in prison by other inmates or prison staff.In 2001, Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 140,000 inmates had been raped while incarcerated. and there is a significant variation in the rates of prison rape by race...
around his age after his November 1995 transfer to a division for younger offenders in Clemens. Hulin committed suicide afterwards. He became a symbol of a movement that advocated not placing juvenile offenders in adult institutions.