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Behind the Walls: a Guide for Family and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates

Description: Texas holds one in every nine U.S. inmates. Behind the Walls is a detailed description of one of the world's largest prison systems by a long-time convict trained as an observer and reporter. It spotlights the day-to-day workings of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-what's good, what's bad, which programs work and which ones do not, and examines if practice really follows official policy. Written to inform about the processes, services, activities, issues, and problems of being incarcer… more
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Date: December 15, 2002
Creator: Renaud, Jorge Antonio
Partner: UNT Press
open access

A Guide to Sources of Texas Criminal Justice Statistics

Description: This reference work was compiled as a resource for those needing assistance in locating Texas criminal justice statistics. R. Scott Harnsberger has compiled more than 600 entries describing statistical sources for Texas crime; criminals; law enforcement; courts and sentencing; adult and juvenile corrections; capital punishment and death row; victims of crime; driving/boating under the influence; traffic fatalities; substance abuse and treatment; polls and rankings; and fiscal topics such as app… more
Date: 2011
Creator: Harnsberger, R. Scott
Partner: UNT Press

Eleven Days in Hell: the 1974 Carrasco Prison Siege in Huntsville, Texas

Description: From one o’clock on the afternoon of July 24, 1974, until shortly before ten o’clock the night of August 3, eleven days later, one of the longest hostage-taking sieges in the history of the United States took place in Texas’s Huntsville State Prison. The ringleader, Federico (Fred) Gomez Carrasco, the former boss of the largest drug-running operation in south Texas, was serving life for assault with intent to commit murder on a police officer. Using his connections to smuggle guns and ammunitio… more
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Date: August 15, 2004
Creator: Harper, William T.
Partner: UNT Press

Tall Walls and High Fences: Officers and Offenders, the Texas Prison Story

Description: Texas has one of the world’s largest prison systems, in operation for more than 170 years and currently employing more than 28,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been involved in the prison business in Texas: inmates, correctional officers, public officials, private industry representatives, and volunteers have all entered the secure facilities and experienced a different world. Previous books on Texas prisons have focused either on records and data of the prisons, personal memoir… more
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Date: October 15, 2020
Creator: Alexander, Bob & Alford, Richard K.
Partner: UNT Press

Worse Than Death: The Dallas Nightclub Murders and the Texas Multiple Murder Law

Description: In 1984, a Moroccan national named Abdelkrim Belachheb walked into Iannis Restaurant, a trendy Dallas nightclub, and gunned down seven people. Six died. Despite the fact that the crimes occurred in a state that prides itself on being tough on criminals, the death penalty was not an option for the Belachheb jury. Even though he had committed six murders, and his guilt was never in question (despite his insanity defense), his crimes were not capital murders under 1984 statutes. As a direct result… more
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Date: October 15, 2003
Creator: Lavergne, Gary M.
Partner: UNT Press

Bad Boy From Rosebud: the Murderous Life of Kenneth Allen Mcduff

Description: In October of 1989, the State of Texas set Kenneth Allen McDuff, the Broomstick Murderer, free on parole. By choosing to murder again, McDuff became the architect of an extraordinarily intolerant atmosphere in Texas. The spasm of prison construction and parole reforms—collectively called the “McDuff Rules”—resulted from an enormous display of anger vented towards a system that allowed McDuff to kill, and kill again. Bad Boy from Rosebud is a chilling account of the life of one of the most heart… more
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Date: July 15, 1999
Creator: Lavergne, Gary M.
Partner: UNT Press

Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo

Description: Convict Cowboys is the first book on the nation’s first prison rodeo, which ran from 1931 to 1986. At its apogee the Texas Prison Rodeo drew 30,000 spectators on October Sundays. Mitchel P. Roth portrays the Texas Prison Rodeo against a backdrop of Texas history, covering the history of rodeo, the prison system, and convict leasing, as well as important figures in Texas penology including Marshall Lee Simmons, O.B. Ellis, and George J. Beto, and the changing prison demimonde. Over the years th… more
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Date: July 2016
Creator: Roth, Mitchel P.
Partner: UNT Press

Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections

Description: The field of corrections comprises three distinct areas of study: institutional corrections (jails and prisons), community corrections (probation and parole), and intermediate sanctions (community service, boot camps, intensive supervision programs, home confinement and electronic monitoring, halfway houses, day reporting, fines, and restitution). Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections is the first non-edited book devoted completely to intermediate sanctions systems and their individual programs… more
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Date: October 15, 2004
Creator: Caputo, Gail A.
Partner: UNT Press

Death Lore: Texas Rituals, Superstitions, and Legends of the Hereafter

Description: Death provides us with some of our very best folklore. Some fear it, some embrace it, and most have pretty firm ideas about what happens when we die. Although some people may not want to talk about dying, it’s the only thing that happens to all of us–and there’s no way to get around it. This Publication of the Texas Folklore Society examines the lore of death and whatever happens afterward. The first chapter examines places where people are buried, either permanently or temporarily. Chapter Tw… more
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Date: December 15, 2008
Creator: Texas Folklore Society
Partner: UNT Press

Old Riot, New Ranger: Captain Jack Dean, Texas Ranger and U.S. Marshal

Description: Award-winning author Bob Alexander presents a biography of 20th-century Ranger Captain Jack Dean, who holds the distinction of being one of only five men to serve in both the Officer’s Corps of the Rangers and also as a President-appointed United States Marshal. Jack Dean’s service in Texas Ranger history occurred at a time when the institution was undergoing a philosophical revamping and restructuring, all hastened by America’s Civil Rights Movement, landmark decisions handed down by the Unite… more
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Date: July 2018
Creator: Alexander, Bob
Partner: UNT Press

Written in Blood: the History of Fort Worth's Fallen Lawmen

Description: In 2010 Written in Blood: The History of Fort Worth’s Fallen Lawmen, Volume 1, told the stories of thirteen Fort Worth law officers who died in the line of duty between 1861 and 1909. Now Richard F. Selcer and Kevin S. Foster are back with Volume 2 covering another baker’s dozen line-of-duty deaths that occurred between 1910 and 1928. Not counting the two officers who died of natural causes, these are more tales of murder, mayhem, and dirty work from all branches of local law enforcement: polic… more
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Date: October 15, 2011
Creator: Selcer, Richard F. & Foster, Kevin S.
Partner: UNT Press

The Ranger Ideal Volume 2: Texas Rangers in the Hall of Fame, 1874-1930

Description: Established in Waco in 1968, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum honors the iconic Texas Rangers, a service that has existed, in one form or another, since 1823. They have become legendary symbols of Texas and the American West. In The Ranger Ideal Volume 2: Texas Rangers in the Hall of Fame, 1874-1930, Darren L. Ivey presents the twelve inductees who served Texas in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Ivey begins with John B. Jones, who directed his Rangers from state troops to pr… more
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Date: October 2018
Creator: Ivey, Darren L.
Partner: UNT Press

Walking George: the Life of George John Beto and the Rise of the Modern Texas Prison System

Description: George John Beto (1916-1991) is best known for his contributions to criminal justice, but his fame is not limited to this field. Walking George , authored by two of his former students, David M. Horton and George R. Nielsen, examines the entire life of Beto and his many achievements in the fields of both education and criminal justice—and how he wedded the two whenever possible. Beto initially studied to become a Lutheran pastor but instead was called to teach at Concordia Lutheran College in … more
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Date: September 15, 2005
Creator: Horton, David M. & Nielsen, George R.
Partner: UNT Press

Raza Rising: Chicanos in North Texas

Description: Book about Chicano and Latino experiences in North Texas, based on the author's personal history, newspaper articles, community input, and other sources. Chapters address education, culture, politics, heritage, and related topics.
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Date: March 2016
Creator: Gonzales, Richard J.
Partner: UNT Press

Written in Blood: the History of Fort Worth's Fallen Lawmen

Description: In 2009 Fort Worth unveiled an elaborate, million-dollar memorial to its fallen police and firefighters going all the way back to the city’s beginnings in 1873. Fifty-eight of the ninety-five names on the memorial were policemen. Written in Blood is a more inclusive version of that idea because it covers more than just members of the Fort Worth Police Department; it includes men from all branches of local law enforcement who died defending law and order in the early years: policemen, sheriffs, … more
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Date: October 15, 2010
Creator: Selcer, Richard F.
Partner: UNT Press

Fort Worth Characters

Description: Fort Worth history is far more than the handful of familiar names that every true-blue Fort Worther hears growing up: leaders such as Amon Carter, B. B. Paddock, J. Frank Norris, and William McDonald. Their names are indexed in the history books for ready reference. But the drama that is Fort Worth history contains other, less famous characters who played important roles, like Judge James Swayne, Madam Mary Porter, and Marshal Sam Farmer: well known enough in their day but since forgotten. Othe… more
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Date: October 15, 2009
Creator: Selcer, Richard F.
Partner: UNT Press

Constables, Marshals, and More: Forgotten Offices in Texas Law Enforcement

Description: Most students of criminal justice, and the general public as well, think of policing along the three basic types of municipal, sheriff, and state police. Little is known about other avenues of police work, such as the constable. In policing textbooks, when a position such as constable is mentioned, only a line or two is presented, hardly enough to indicate it is of any importance. And yet constables and numerous other alternative policing positions are of vital importance to law enforcement in … more
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Date: September 15, 2011
Creator: Rubenser, Lorie & Priddy, Gloria
Partner: UNT Press

Hide, Horn, Fish, and Fowl: Texas Hunting and Fishing Lore

Description: What would cause someone to withstand freezing temperatures in a cramped wooden box for hours on end, or stand in waist-high rushing waters, flicking a pole back and forth over and over—in many cases with nothing whatsoever to show for his efforts? Why is it that, into the twenty-first century, with the convenience of practically any type of red meat or fish available at the local supermarket, we continue to hunt game and fish on open waters? The answer is that no matter how sophisticated we th… more
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Date: December 15, 2011
Creator: Untiedt, Kenneth L.
Partner: UNT Press

A Texas Baptist History Sourcebook: a Companion to Mcbeth's Texas Baptists

Description: From the days of Z. N. Morrell and James Huckins to Bill Pinson and Charles Wade, Baptists have played and continue to play an important role in the religious, secular, and political life of Texas. Over the previous one hundred and fifty years several Texas Baptist histories have been written, but not until now have the documents used in the development of these texts been made available in one resource. In A Texas Baptist History Sourcebook, Joseph E. Early, Jr., has provided the most complet… more
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Date: June 15, 2004
Creator: Early, Joseph E., Jr
Partner: UNT Press

Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department

Description: Houston Blue offers the first comprehensive history of one of the nation’s largest police forces, the Houston Police Department. Through extensive archival research and more than one hundred interviews with prominent Houston police figures, politicians, news reporters, attorneys, and others, authors Mitchel P. Roth and Tom Kennedy chronicle the development of policing in the Bayou City from its days as a grimy trading post in the 1830s to its current status as the nation’s fourth largest city. … more
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Date: November 15, 2012
Creator: Roth, Mitchel P.
Partner: UNT Press

Forging the Star: The Official Modern History of the United States Marshals Service

Description: What do diverse events such as the integration of the University of Mississippi, the federal trials of Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, the confrontation at Ruby Ridge, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have in common? The U.S. Marshals were instrumental in all of them. Whether pursuing dangerous felons in each of the 94 judicial districts or extraditing them from other countries; protecting federal judges, prosecutors, and witnesses from threats; transporting and maintaining prisoners and… more
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Date: July 2016
Creator: Turk, David S.
Partner: UNT Press

He Rode with Butch and Sundance: The Story of Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan

Description: Pinned down by a posse, the wounded outlaw’s companions urged him to escape through the gulch. “Don’t wait for me,” he replied, “I’m all in and might as well end it right here.” Placing his revolver to his right temple, he pulled the trigger for the last time, thus ending the life of the notorious “Kid Curry” of the Wild Bunch. It is long past time for the publication of a well-researched, definitive biography of the infamous western outlaw Harvey Alexander Logan, better known by his alias Kid… more
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Date: August 15, 2012
Creator: Smokov, Mark T.
Partner: UNT Press

Bad Company and Burnt Powder: Justice and Injustice in the Old Southwest

Description: Bad Company and Burnt Powder is a collection of twelve stories of when things turned "Western" in the nineteenth-century Southwest. Each chapter deals with a different character or episode in the Wild West involving various lawmen, Texas Rangers, outlaws, feudists, vigilantes, lawyers, and judges. Covered herein are the stories of Cal Aten, John Hittson, the Millican boys, Gid Taylor and Jim and Tom Murphy, Alf Rushing, Bob Meldrum and Noah Wilkerson, P. C. Baird, Gus Chenowth, Jim Dunaway, Jo… more
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Date: July 2014
Creator: Alexander, Bob
Partner: UNT Press
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