Retrieve Unit

History

The prison was formerly known as the Retrieve Unit. The prison opened on the grounds of the former Retrieve Plantation, which opened in 1839. The final main building opened in the 1930s.

In 1935 Retrieve housed White prisoners. In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed second offenders, habitual criminals, and African Americans over the age of 25. A post office in the nearby community of Snipe served the prison farm from 1921 to 1949.

The prison received its final name, Wayne Scott Unit, on February 1, 2002, after a former TDCJ executive director.

In September 2018, some 45 boxes of unclaimed bananas were donated to the Scott Unit. and the boxes were found to contain 540 packages of cocaine, which at the time held a street value of US$17,820,000.

In 2020 307 people worked at Wayne Scott. The main prison unit was scheduled to end operations by late 2020. According to Bryan Collier, the executive director of the prison agency, the cost to revamp the main building would exceed $30,000,000. The trusty camp at that time remained open. In 2021 the Jester IV Unit in Fort Bend County was renamed the Wayne Scott Unit.

References

References

1. "RETRIEVE (RV)". [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]].
2. Isensee, Bridie. "[http://thefacts.com/news/article_8837df5d-1d77-50b7-b5f7-504d314bb5f0.html TDCJ makes overtime changes]." ''[[Brazosport Facts]]''. Wednesday August 13, 2003. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
3. "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Brazoria County, TX". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
4. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100725201421/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/rv.htm Scott Unit]." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. "6999 Retrieve, Angleton, Texas 77515"
5. Ward, Mike. "[http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/driving-tour-shows-times-have-changed-at-suburban-616953.html Driving tour shows times have changed at suburban Houston prisons]." ''[[Austin American-Statesman]]''. Saturday April 24, 2010. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
6. Armintor, Carlos. "[http://thefacts.com/article_31d67bd5-e2cb-56db-8cf1-9fad096ccf28.html ‘Meanest man in Texas’ was guest of Brazoria]." ''[[Brazosport Facts]]''. Monday September 8, 2003. Updated Wednesday April 7, 2010. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.
7. "[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/acr01 Retrieve Plantation]." ''[[Handbook of Texas]]''. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.
8. McCarty, Maddy. (2020-10-30). "TDCJ main Wayne Scott unit closing". [[The Brazosport Facts]].
9. 0-292-71983-3, {{ISBN. 978-0-292-71983-5.
10. 0-292-71983-3, {{ISBN. 978-0-292-71983-5.
11. "[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hns57 Snipe, Texas]." ''[[Handbook of Texas]]''. Retrieved on July 16, 2010.
12. (March–April 2002). "South Texas unit renamed for former TDCJ Executive Director". [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]].
13. Chapman, Sydney. (2018-09-24). "$18 million worth of cocaine found in bananas donated to Texas prison, report says". DeseretNews.com.
14. "$17.8 million worth of cocaine found in hidden fruit". NBC News.
15. "Facility Map". [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]].
16. (June 2021). "TDCJ to Rename Three Prison Units". [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]].