Vol. 13: Man with the Killer Smile

Published: November, 2022  Pages: 320 

On a cold, windy December night in 1926, hell was unleashed on a tenant farm near Farwell, the last Texas town before the New Mexico border. Prone to the bottle and fits of rage, the burly man with the smiling blue eyes was in no mood to quarrel with his third wife over his bootleg whisky and sexual abuse of his stepdaughter. He went from room to room in the house, killing his wife and each child with primitive cutting tools and his bare hands. By the time he concluded his bloody work, he had taken the lives of nine family members ranging in age from 2 to 41, committing what one local reporter called “the blackest crime” in the history of the West Texas Panhandle. more... about Man with the Killer Smile

Vol. 12: Tall Walls and High Fences Officers and Offenders, the Texas Prison Story

Published: October, 2020  Pages: 608  Features: 96 b&w illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

Tall Walls and High Fences is the first comprehensive history of Texas prisons, written by a former law enforcement officer and an officer of the Texas prisons. Bob Alexander and Richard K. Alford chronicle the significant events and transformation of the Texas prison system from its earliest times to the present day, paying special attention to the human side of the story. Within these pages are stories of prison breaks, bloodhounds chasing escapees, and gunfights. Inside the walls are deadly confrontations, human trafficking, rape, clandestine consensual trysts, and tricks turned against correctional officers. more... about Tall Walls and High Fences Officers and Offenders, the Texas Prison Story

Vol. 11: Country Cop: True Tales from a Texas Deputy Sheriff

Published: May, 2020  Pages: 464  Features: 20 b&w illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

The deputy sheriff or sheriff of a county often is perceived as the lone officer protecting the citizens of a small town. Country Cop is the riveting story of one such deputy sheriff, Barry Goodson, and his experiences with the Parker County Sheriff’s office in the 1990s and early 2000s in North Texas. Goodson puts the reader in his patrol car to vicariously share what it is like to be in county law enforcement. He reveals his officer’s skills, which include the ability to identify an offender immediately, to assess that offender’s immediate intent (apparent or not), and to decide on proper action. more... about Country Cop: True Tales from a Texas Deputy Sheriff

Vol. 10: Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo

Published: August, 2016  Pages: 464  Features: 50 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

Listen to an interview on the podcast New Books in History with Mitchel P. Roth, author of Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo. more... about Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo

Vol. 9: Death on Base: The Fort Hood Massacre

Published: May, 2015  Pages: 384  Features: 28 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

When Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan walked into the Fort Hood Soldier Readiness Processing Center and opened fire on soldiers within, he perpetrated the worst mass shooting on a United States military base in our country’s history. Death on Base is an in-depth look at the events surrounding the tragic mass murder that took place on November 5, 2009, and an investigation into the causes and influences that factored into the attack. more... about Death on Base: The Fort Hood Massacre

Vol. 8: Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department

Published: November, 2012  Pages: 496  Features: 50 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

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. Combining the skills of historian, criminologist, and journalist, Roth and Kennedy reconstruct the history of a police force that has been both innovative and controversial. more... about Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department

Vol. 7: Constables, Marshals, and More: Forgotten Offices in Texas Law Enforcement

Published: September, 2011  Pages: 208  Features: 11 b&w illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

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 Texas and in other states. more... about Constables, Marshals, and More: Forgotten Offices in Texas Law Enforcement

Vol. 6: A Guide to Sources of Texas Criminal Justice Statistics

Published: May, 2011  Pages: 320  Features: Notes. Index. Open Access

A Guide to Sources of Texas Criminal Justice Statistics is now available as a free e-book at the UNT Digital Library. more... about A Guide to Sources of Texas Criminal Justice Statistics

Vol. 5: Walking George: The Life of George John Beto and the Rise of the Modern Texas Prison System

Published: September, 2005  Pages: 304  Features: 25 illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

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. more... about Walking George: The Life of George John Beto and the Rise of the Modern Texas Prison System

• Award of Commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute, 2006

Vol. 4: Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections

Published: October, 2004  Pages: 240  Features: 51 figures. Bib. Index.

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. It begins with an overview of the background and foundation of intermediate sanctions programs and then describes in clear detail each program and its effectiveness. Caputo supports every point with thorough and up-to-date research. Jon’a Meyer, an expert on this field, contributes a chapter on home confinement. more... about Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections

Vol. 3: Eleven Days in Hell: The 1974 Carrasco Prison Siege at Huntsville, Texas

Published: August, 2004  Pages: 360  Features: 40 illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

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’ 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 ammunition into the prison, and employing the aid of two other inmates, he took eleven prison workers and four inmates hostage in the prison library. Demanding bulletproof helmets and vests, he planned to use the hostages as shields for his escape. more... about Eleven Days in Hell: The 1974 Carrasco Prison Siege at Huntsville, Texas

• Violet Crown Book Award for best nonfiction, from the Writers' League of Texas, 2005

Vol. 2: Worse Than Death: The Dallas Nightclub Murders and the Texas Multiple Murder Law

Published: October, 2003  Pages: 288  Features: 25 illus. Notes. Index.

In 1984, a Moroccan national named Abdelkrim Belachheb walked into Ianni’s 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 of this crime, during the 1985 regular session the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 8—the multiple murder statute—to make serial killing and mass murder capital crimes. more... about Worse Than Death: The Dallas Nightclub Murders and the Texas Multiple Murder Law

Vol. 1: Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates

Published: December, 2002  Pages: 224  Features: 20 photos. App. Index.

Texas holds one in every nine U.S. inmates. more... about Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates