About Terrell

The Charles T. Terrell Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas. The facility is located on Farm to Market Road 655, 4 miles west of Farm to Market Road 521. The prison, has about 16,369 acres of land, is co-located with Ramsey Unit and Stringfellow Unit. The prison is near Rosharon, and about 35 miles south of Houston.

The Unit holds approximately 1,400 men in the main building, annex and trustee camp. It conducts agricultural operations, runs a canning facility, is a medical unit and provides both educational and faith based programs.

History

The prison opened in September 1983. The Terrell Unit was originally the Ramsey III Unit. After the previous Terrell Unit (now the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, Texas) began to receive death row inmates, the facility's namesake, a Dallas insurance executive named Charles Terrell, wanted his name taken off of the prison. On July 20, 2001 the Texas Board of Criminal Justice voted to rename the Ramsey III Unit the Charles T. Terrell Unit.

Notable prisoners

Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as a founding member of the Underground Kingz. Pimp C was found dead in a hotel in West Hollywood, California, on December 4, 2007, 26 days before his 34th birthday.

David Owen Brooks (February 12, 1955 – May 28, 2020) was an American convicted murderer and accomplice of serial killer Dean Corll, who, along with Elmer Wayne Henley, abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered at least 28 boys and young men between 1970 and 1973 in Houston, Texas. The crimes, which became known as the Houston Mass Murders, came to light after Henley shot Corll dead. At the time of their discovery, the Houston Mass Murders were considered the worst example of serial murder in American history. Brooks died from Covid-19 in 2020 after repeatedly being denied parole.