Table Of ContentPALGRAVE
STUDIES
IN PRISONS
AND PENOLOGY
Prisons and
Punishment in Texas
Culture, History and Museological
Representation
Hannah Thurston
Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
Series Editors
Ben Crewe
Deputy Director
Prisons Research Centre
University of Cambridge , UK
Yvonne Jewkes
Professor of Criminology
University of Leicester
UK
Thomas Ugelvik
Associate Professor
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Norway
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punishment. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology provides an
important forum for burgeoning prison research across the world.
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M. Jeff erson (Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims),
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Law, University of California) and Michael Welch (Rutgers University).
More information about this series at
http://www.springer.com/series/14596
Hannah T hurston
Prisons and
Punishment in Texas
Culture, History and Museological
Representation
Hannah Th urston
University of Brighton
United Kingdom
Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
ISBN 978-1-137-53307-4 ISBN 978-1-137-53308-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-53308-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016942669
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors Professor
Jeff Ferrell and Doctor Phil Carney for their guidance and enthusiasm
throughout my studies. In addition, this project would not have been
possible without the cooperation of the museum curators I met while in
Texas. Th ese men and women give their time and expertise, often vol-
untarily, not only to preserve a penal past but also to educate those who
wish to learn. My thanks also go to the School of Social Policy, Sociology
and Social Research (University of Kent) for my PhD scholarship, and to
the Christine and Ian Bolt Scholarship fund of which I was a recipient.
W ith regard to the production process, the reviewers of my manuscript
provided constructive insight and I am grateful to them for their advice
and recommendations. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude
to the editors of Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology, and to the pro-
duction team at Palgrave for their patience and support. In particular I
am indebted to Professor Yvonne Jewkes and Professor Peter Squires who
were both kind enough to read drafts and off er early suggestions about
how best to proceed with the manuscript.
Finally, I turn to my family. Michael Th urston, my father, provided
support when I needed it most. Richard Th urston, my brother, off ered
me an alternative perspective which challenged my own. Gary Prescott,
my partner, proved himself to be the most patient man I have ever met.
Special thanks, though, go to my mother, Diane Th urston. She has an
v
vi Acknowledgements
inner strength I have often envied, she is resilient in times of great pres-
sure and she displays a kindness not found in many; a truly incredible
woman. Th ank you.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Part 1 Setting the Scene for Museological Research 5
2 Th e Signifi cance of Stories in Museum Research 7
3 Becoming a Texas Tourist 19
4 Telling Tales About a ‘Tough Texas’ 47
Part 2 Representing Punishment in the
United States of America 67
5 Emotionality and Cultural Stories of (In)justice 69
6 Th e Cultural Life of Punishment in the Southern States 99
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viii Contents
7 Narrative Possibilities in Cultural Life Research 119
Part 3 Th e Punishment Museums of the Lone Star State 129
8 M useum Stories of a Distinctly Tough Texas 131
9 D epicting Modern Punishment as Civilised Punishment 147
10 A Narrative Journey Th rough Inmate Identities 171
Part 4 Th e Texan Self-Identity Past and Present 181
11 ‘Texanicity’ and Its Punishment Dimensions 183
12 Texan Toughness and Lone Star Memories: Th e Alamo
and the Old West 197
13 Re-imagining Texas as a Place of Harsh Punishment 225
14 Epilogue: So Where Do We Go from Here? 239
Bibliography 243
Index 245
List of Figures
Fig. 3.1 Eastland standard cell 22
Fig. 3.2 Longhorn Stockyards 26
Fig. 3.3 Texas Prison Museum Monument 29
Fig. 3.4 Joe Byrd Cemetery 31
Fig. 3.5 San Jacinto Monument 34
Fig. 3.6 Beaumont cell 37
Fig. 3.7 Texas State Capitol 39
Fig. 3.8 San Antonio River Walk 42
Fig. 3.9 Alamo Shrine 44
Fig. 4.1 State by state incarceration totals 52
Fig. 4.2 Total executions (2007–14) in states that have executed
more than one person 54
Fig. 4.3 Top ten states: total executions pre- and post-moratorium 55
Fig. 4.4 Top ten states: execution rate post-moratorium
(per 100,000) 57
Fig. 4.5 Top ten states: execution rate (per 100,000)
pre- and post-moratorium 59
Fig. 8.1 Beaumont Police Museum Memorial 137
Fig. 8.2 Border Patrol Museum Memorial Room 138
Fig. 8.3 Houston Police Museum Memorial Cabinet 139
Fig. 9.1 Th e electric chair: Texas Prison Museum 150
Fig. 9.2 Photographic Exhibit: Texas Prison Museum 159
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