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Eastham Unit (EA) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for men and located in unincorporated Houston County, Texas GPS Coordinates 30.978106, -95.632274.〔"(Eastham Unit )." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.〕 The prison is located at the dead end of Farm to Market Road 230,〔Perkinson, Robert. ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. (43 ). ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.〕 near Lovelady and west of Trinity.〔 Eastham, nicknamed "the Ham," is up the Trinity River from the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston,〔 and it is about one thirds of the distance between Polunsky and the Christina Crain Unit (formerly Gatesville Unit) in Gatesville. Robert Perkinson, author of ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire'', said that while the TDCJ and other agencies operate many types of prisons and jails in Texas, "if any unit stands for the rest," it would be Eastham.〔Perkinson, Robert. ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. (42 ). ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.〕 In 1972 a prisoner at Eastham sued the Texas Department of Corrections and won in 1979, the court found conditions of imprisonment within the TDC prison system constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the United States Constitution. ==History== Before the American Civil War, the land now making up Eastham was cleared by slaves. After the civil war, sharecroppers originally worked the land. The sharecroppers were replaced by prisoners under a convict leasing program. In 1896, Mrs. D. Eastham agreed to pay $14.50 per month per person for 119 convicted men, including many African-Americans.〔 The Eastham Unit opened in April 1917,〔 becoming the first maximum security prison in Texas.〔Biffle, Kent. "(Macabre tales haunts history of old prison )." ''The Dallas Morning News''. April 2, 2000. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.〕 It was named after the Eastham Family, the original owners of the land occupied by the prison.〔"(1995 Annual Report )." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.〕 Throughout Eastham's history, many prisoners dreaded being sent to Eastham because of the arduous work assignments, the dangerous conditions, and the difficulty of escaping the unit. Many crackdowns and work strikes occurred during the unit's history. Throughout its history Eastham housed maximum security male prisoners and made them work in the fields.〔 In the early twentieth century Eastham housed female prisoners. After a sexual abuse scandal occurred, the Texas Prison System administrators moved the women to be closer to Huntsville, and Eastham began housing men. Eastham was the starting point of the Texas Prison Rodeo,〔 which began in 1931.〔"(Texas Prison Rodeo )." Handbook of Texas. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.〕 On January 16, 1934, Clyde Barrow freed five prisoners from the unit.〔"(Famous Cases Bonnie and Clyde )." Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.〕 At a later point Eastham specialized in housing young offenders; at first the young offenders were White, but after the facilities aged the state sent Black young offenders to Eastham.〔 In 1935 Eastham housed White prisoners.〔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.〕 In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed White prisoners who are mostly classified as maximum security inmates.〔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.〕 The prison acted as an incubator for the ''Ruiz v. Estelle'' court case.〔 As an outbreak of stabbings occurred, an October 1986 ''Newsweek'' magazine had a cover story on Eastham with title "America's Toughest Prison.〔 In 1984 several prisoners short-circuited the locks on their cells and held a guard hostage. The crisis ended when prison guards attacked the cell block.〔Bounds, Mary C. "(OFFICERS STORM CELL, FREE PRISON GUARD )." ''The Dallas Morning News''. October 16, 1984. Retrieved on November 28, 2010.〕 In October 2000 David Stacks became the warden of Eastham; he introduced several voluntary rehabilitation programs to the unit.〔"(Rehabilitation programs rid Eastham of rugged reputation )." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. July–August 2006. Retrieved on November 28, 2010.〕 Robert Perkinson, author of ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire'', said by 2010 Eastham's reputation had mellowed mainly because of the opening of newer units with more stringent rules, such as the Polunsky Unit.〔Perkinson, Robert. ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. (43 )-(44 ). ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.〕 The TDCJ stated in 2006 that Stacks's programs "helped rid Eastham of its once rugged reputation."〔 As of 2010, the prison's agricultural operation, described by Perkinson as "massive," has 4,000 head of free-range cattle, 52,000 laying hens, 5,000 hogs, and of field crops. The operation is maintained with 11 paid employees and prisoner labor.〔Perkinson, Robert. ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p. (44 ). ISBN 978-0-8050-8069-8.〕 In 2011 the Jester III Unit garment plant closed. Its operations were consolidated with the plant at Eastham.〔Ward, Mike. "(Prison industry programs a victim of economic recession )." ''Austin American-Statesman''. Sunday September 4, 2011. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Eastham Unit」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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