Death row was in the East Building of the Huntsville Unit from 1928 to 1952. From 1952 until 1965, the electric chair was in a building by the East Wall of the Huntsville Unit.
The men on death row were moved from the Huntsville Unit to the Ellis Unit in 1965. Death row remained at the Ellis Unit until 1999. In 1999, the TDCJ moved death row to the Polunsky Unit. The Polunsky Unit houses death row inmates separately in single-person cells, with each cell having a window. Death row inmates are also recreated individually. Inmates on death row receive a regular diet and have access to reading, writing, and legal materials. Depending upon their custody level, some death row inmates may have a radio. The women on death row are housed at the Mountain View Unit. Inmates on death row do not have regular TDCJ-ID numbers; they have special death row numbers.
see also Suge Knight parents: Meet Maxine, Marion Knight Sr.
Is Death Row still legal in the US?
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C.
Capital punishment is, in practice, only applied for aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, only 20 states have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums.
