Former ‘Huntsville Unit’ warden to speak at Tarleton State University

STEPHENVILLE (January 29, 2016) — Jim Willett, former prison warden of the historic Huntsville “Walls” Unit and current director of the Texas Prison Museum is the next guest lecturer of Tarleton State University’s ongoing Speaker Symposium.

The lecture, “Huntsville’s Death Chamber and What Happens There,” begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, in Room 118 of the O.A. Grant Humanities Building on the Stephenville campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Willett spent 30 years with the Texas prison system and retired as warden of the Huntsville Unit, nicknamed the “Walls Unit,” which houses the state of Texas execution chamber. He oversaw 89 executions during his time with the Correctional Institutions Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Huntsville is the oldest state prison in Texas, opening in 1849.

Willett was first hired by the prison system in Huntsville at age 21 while studying at Sam Houston State University. After graduation, he was offered a full-time position at the Huntsville Unit and later was promoted to assistant warden, putting in 10 years at other Texas prisons. It was in 1998 that prison officials asked Willett to step into one of the highest-profile positions within the correctional system: senior warden of the “Walls” Unit.

In the years following his promotion, Willett oversaw one of the busiest periods in Texas’ execution chamber. During the three years he served as senior warden, Willett gave the green light for 89 executions and stood by as inmates were strapped to the gurney and the lethal injection administered.

Upon his retirement, Willett co-authored “Warden: Texas Prison Life and Death from the Inside Out” in 2005 with fellow author Ron Rozelle. The book chronicles his 30-year career, from his first night as a shotgun-wielding guard to the last man he accompanied to the death chamber.

In addition to publishing the book, Willett also served as narrator of the radio documentary “Witness to an Execution,” which aired on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and won a Peabody Award in 2000.

For more information about the Speaker Symposium Lecture Series and upcoming presenters, visit www.tarleton.edu/speakersymposium.