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Thread: Billy Joel Tracy - Texas Death Row

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    Billy Joel Tracy - Texas Death Row

    Corrections Officer Timothy Davison
    Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas
    End of Watch: Wednesday, July 15, 2015



    Billy Joel Tracy


    Billy Joel Tracy during his trial


    Billy Joel Tracy in Cellblock A (Death Watch)



    Texas corrections officer killed in inmate attack


    Inmate serving life for Rockwall County robbery and assault kills corrections officer

    NEW BOSTON (AP) — A corrections officer escorting an inmate to his cell was beaten to death Wednesday at a far northeast Texas prison, Department of Criminal Justice officials said.

    The officer was escorting the inmate from a dayroom at the Telford Unit when he was attacked with an object, prison agency spokesman Jason Clark said. Officials did not immediately identify the weapon.

    “It’s still under investigation,” Clark said.

    The officer, Timothy Davison, 47, was taken to a hospital in Texarkana, about 20 miles east of the prison, where he died, Clark said. Davison, who lived near the prison, had been with the agency since December.

    “Our hearts are deeply saddened by this tragic loss of life,” Brad Livingston, executive director of the prison system, said. “This dedicated correctional officer came to work each day determined to make Texas a safe place to live.”

    The inmate involved was identified as Billy Joel Tracy, 37.

    Prison records show he has at least seven convictions dating back to 1995 and is serving a life sentence for robbery and aggravated assault from Rockwall County, a suburban county east of Dallas. He has other convictions from Tarrant and Potter counties, including possession of a deadly weapon while in prison. At least three convictions are for assaults on corrections officers.

    “We will see that the offender who is responsible for this murder will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Oliver Bell, chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, said.

    Clark said the Telford Unit was properly staffed and had not been the scene of recent serious security problems.

    “Of course, any time there’s a serious incident like this, there will be a review,” he said. “That’s standard procedure.”

    Investigators from the agency’s Office of Inspector General were at the prison and “processing the crime scene,” Clark said.

    It’s the first slaying of a Texas corrections officer since 2007, when 59-year-old Susan Canfield suffered fatal head injuries during the chaos and gunfire as two inmates broke away from a work detail outside a Huntsville-area prison. Both inmates were recaptured. One of them convicted of her death has since been executed.

    The Telford Unit in Bowie County can hold nearly 2,900 inmates.

    http://www.dallasnews.com/news/commu...ns-officer.ece
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Tray slot with the slot bar in use.


    Texas corrections officer beaten with his own 'pry tool'


    By Terri Langford
    The Texas Tribune

    A Texas correctional officer killed while escorting a prisoner to his cell was beaten to death with a two-foot, "pry bar" tool guards carry to unlock the small meal tray openings in cell doors, The Texas Tribune has confirmed with a source close to the investigation.

    Correctional Officer Timothy Davison, 47, died on Wednesday after suffering injuries inflicted with what is known as a "pry bar" or "tray tool," a bar he carried to activate the spring bolt lock that keeps a slot open or closed in a cell door.

    Davison was escorting a handcuffed Billy Joel Tracy, 37, from a recreation area inside the Telford Unit in northeast Texas when Tracy somehow slipped one hand from the restraints and began beating Davison, pulling him to the ground, the source told the Tribune.

    Tracy then grabbed the pry tool from Davison, who was hired less than a year ago, and began beating him with it.

    The tools remain on a cellblock and are used only in prisons with single solitary confinement cells. On any given day in Texas, hundreds of the tools pass from shift to shift, and are carried by some of the 22,000 or more correctional officers who work in those maximum-security areas. There are 5,711 inmates confined, as Tracy was, in solitary confinement.

    The Texas Department of Criminal Justice refused to disclose what weapon was used to kill Davison, or how the beating occurred. "I'm not discussing what was used in the attack," said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the state prison agency.

    Pry bars have been a concern for a while, said Lance Lowry, president of the state's correctional employees union.

    "It's a bad idea to carry a big pry bar in prison," he said. Davison's death is prompting the union to ask the agency to consider retrofitting the food tray slot locks with more modern, safer mechanisms.

    "We're going to ask the state to get rid of it because it's clearly a danger," said Lowry who added the pry bar puts both officers and offenders at risk of attack and injury.

    In a 2015 federal lawsuit filed against a Texas correctional officer, an inmate claimed he was attacked for no reason. But court documents in that lawsuit, filed in Amarillo, show that a correctional officer testified that the inmate was restrained to prevent him from obtaining a pry bar from another officer.

    Clark, the TDCJ spokesman said, the prison agency has not identified any other incidents involving the use of a pry tool against an officer.

    Texas correctional officers do not carry weapons inside the prison units. They wear protective vests, carry pepper spray and radios, along with keys and pry bars.

    It's not known exactly why Texas opts for the older pry bar instead of keys. State Sen.John Whitmire, D-Houston, the chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and arguably the lawmaker best versed in prison operations, declined to comment Thursday on the use of the tray slot tools.

    "They need to come with a better locking mechanism. This is not the first incident the agency has had with tray lock bars," Lowry said.

    Tracy, 37, has not been charged in Davison's death, which is under investigation by the state prison system's Office of Inspector General. Tracy, who came to TDCJ to serve a life sentence for aggravated assault out of Rockwall County, has also been convicted for attacking two different correctional officers. In 2005, he stabbed a correctional officer in the Clements Unit five times with a metal object, and in 2011 he was convicted for attacking another correctional officer in another prison.

    It is not known if Davison's attack was recorded by a digital camera. Documents submitted by TDCJ to the federal government show that 141 digital cameras have been installed in Telford Unit, with plans to install another 600.

    http://www.khou.com/story/news/crime...tool/30276731/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Retrofit the food tray slots?

    Slide that tray under the door. What scrapes off on the bottom of the door, they don't get.

    Done.

    You're welcome.
    “Ninety-nine percent have made peace with their God. Their victims didn’t have that choice.”

    “You're not entitled to a pain-free execution.”

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    Related:

    Correctional officers face dangers when dealing with inmates


    By Cody Stark
    The Huntsville Item

    Correctional officers risk their health and put their lives on the line every day working alongside violent criminals in Texas prisons.

    The public got a tragic reminder of that last week when an inmate viciously attacked a correctional officer, causing his death, at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Telford Unit in New Boston.

    Agency spokesman Jason Clark said that 47-year-old Timothy Davison was escorting inmate Billy Joel Tracy from the dayroom back to his cell in the administrative segregation wing when the inmate was able to get free from his hand restraints Wednesday. Tracy, 37, beat the officer with an undisclosed object.

    Davison was transported to a hospital in nearby Texarkana where he later died as a result of his injuries. He was the first Texas correctional officer to be murdered in the line of duty by an inmate since Susan Canfield was killed while trying to prevent an escape at the Wynne Unit in Huntsville more than seven years ago.

    Tracy, who has a history of assaulting correctional officers, was transferred to the Coffield Unit in Anderson County.

    "It's still under investigation," Clark said Friday. "Once it is complete, the agency will get with the Bowie County District Attorney's Office to discuss prosecution."

    Paula Gay has worked for TDCJ as a correctional officer for more than 20 years. She retired after 17 years of service, but was rehired as a part-time officer at the Goree Unit in Huntsville three years ago.

    Gay has seen all that goes on behind prison walls, having worked at five different units. Gay says that correctional officers have to "be on guard at all times" and "use good judgment" around inmates.

    "You can't trust any of the offenders and you have to always be on your toes," Gay said late last week. "You have to know the rules and follow the procedures. You have to be aware of the surroundings."

    Gay has been in some intense situations during her career as a correctional officer. She was working at the Torres Unit in Hondo when she and other correctional officers were caught in the middle of a riot in a trustee dorm.

    "It was scary, looking around and seeing the offenders and knowing that if they want to get you, they can get you," Gay said. "We made it out OK. I remember that after our shift was over, we all gathered together in the parking lot to comfort each other."

    Even after what happened last week at the Telford Unit and her past close calls, Gay said she still feels safe doing her job.

    "I have enjoyed my job. I have met lots of great people," she said. "You just have to be on guard and watch each other's backs."

    Harold Dodson, who has worked at the Polunsky Unit in Polk County for four and a half years, agrees with her TDCJ colleague.

    "You better stay on your toes at all times," Dodson said. "The convicts can and will turn on you in a split second. And it doesn't take much. It could be a little thing like trying to take a paper clip, which is contraband, away that sets them off. It doesn't matter how big or small the contraband is, if you take it, they will get mad."

    Dodson said he has been spit on because he "didn't turn on the TV." He also had an inmate threaten his life over food.

    "It was Thanksgiving or Christmas and they were making pies in the kitchen," Dodson said. "One of the convicts was stealing pies and I told him I was going to write him up. He told me, "I will kill you. I will kill you now if you write me up.'

    "I have been threatened to be killed over a piece of pie."

    Dodson believes TDCJ is doing the "best it can with the resources it has" to ensure employee safety inside prisons. He just feels units are "undermanned" and that new officers are getting "younger and younger."

    "They are doing the best they can to hire people to get more help," Dodson said. "They just get a lot of young people that do not know how to deal with these professional convicts. There are actors walking around Hollywood that have nothing on these convicts. They put on a show. They can act."

    Dodson also thinks that newly hired correctional officers should go through more training.

    "You can teach some people out of a book, but that doesn't prepare them for real life," he said. "A book doesn't spit or throw a cup of pee in your face. A lot of new officers aren't prepared for this."

    TDCJ has extended the number of training hours new correctional officers must go through at the pre-service academy. Beginning in September, the required training hours will go from 216 to 240.

    Academy courses cover a wide variety of areas, including self-defense, crisis intervention, how to handle offenders and escort procedures.

    Correctional officers then go through 104 hours of on-the-job training and 40 hours of shift mentoring, where they work hands-on with a senior officer, before being released to work on their own. TDCJ also requires 40 additional hours of in-service training a year.

    "These officers go through extensive training and we prepare them the best we can by providing them with the tools and skills to succeed," said Cody Ginsel, TDCJ's director of training. "Yes, it is a tough environment, but we think they are ready to take on the job.

    "They also have 40 hours of annual training and there is training that goes on in shift briefings before each shift begins. There is training going on 365 days a year."

    http://www.itemonline.com/news/local...db0497085.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Prison guard who survived house explosion is killed by inmate, police say

    By Dennis Sullivan
    The Chicago Tribune

    A prison guard who survived a Streator house explosion last fall was beaten to death by an inmate in Texas last week, authorities said.

    Timothy Davison, 47, was beaten to death Wednesday while escorting a violent inmate back to his cell in New Boston, Texas, where he had been a correctional officer since December.

    Davison was remembered Monday as "a great father" to his two children. "His whole life centered around his kids," said Davison's sister-in-law, Sue Davison. Timothy Davison's daughters, ages 17 and 9, live with their mother in Chicago's south suburbs, the sister-in-law said.

    A non-denominational memorial service Saturday at First Baptist Church in New Boston is expected to attract hundreds of law enforcement and correctional officers. Sue Davison, who is married to Timothy Davison's brother Rich, said a service is being planned at a Chicago-area Catholic cemetery.

    Timothy Davison, the youngest of five siblings, left Illinois last fall after an explosion ripped through the home he shared with his mother in Streator, about 90 miles southwest of Chicago.

    First responders to the Sept. 1 explosion were able to rescue Davison, but 82-year-old Ethel Davison was killed. "I loved her very much. I'm going to miss her," Timothy Davison told WGN-TV at the time. The son tried to reach his mother, but he was turned back by intense flames and debris, he told WGN.

    "He felt guilty," Sue Davison recalled. "He thought he should have been able to save her."

    News reports at the time did not indicate a cause of the blast, which shook several homes in the neighborhood.

    Sue Davison said Timothy Davison decided to try working at the Texas prison where his brother Ken Davison was teaching heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

    Timothy Davison initially planned to similarly put his HVAC degree from the College of DuPage to use at the prison, but "I guess the correctional officer position opened up," she said.

    Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Robert Hurst said Davison on Wednesday was escorting Billy Joel Tracy, 37, who "was restrained from behind." Hurst said another correctional officer was in the area at the time, as required by policy, when the incident took place.

    Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert, who in his previous role as a Potter County district attorney prosecuted Tracy, characterized Tracy as "the most violent and dangerous defendant I have ever prosecuted, and I've prosecuted thousands of defendants — literally."

    Calvert, based in the federal agency's Dallas office, said Tracy "routinely assaulted guards" in jail and had openly stated he would kill a guard if he got the chance.

    Tracy has several criminal convictions and is serving a life sentence for aggravated assault and burglary. Tracy broke "every bone" in the face of a 16-year-old girl he had abducted and then attacked a suburban Dallas police officer who came upon them, Calvert said.

    "Officer Davison was a public servant in the truest sense of the phrase, but more importantly, he was a parent to two children who will remain in our thoughts and prayers as they grieve the loss of their father," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement last week.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...720-story.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Funeral services set for Telford Unit correctional officer killed by inmate

    NEW BOSTON, Tx. (KTBS) - Funeral services have been set for the correctional officer killed in New Boston, Texas.

    Timothy Davison was killed on July 15 by an inmate at the Barry Telford Unit.

    Davison is preceded in death by his parents.

    Survivors include his daughters, Stefanie Davison and Maya Davison of Chicago Ridge, Illinois, two brothers and sisters in law, Ken and Deborah Davison of Simms, Texas, Richard and Susan Davison of Wheaton, Illinois, two sisters and a brother in law,

    Ruth Ann and Mike White of Republic, Missouri, Cherylin Conway of Lake Jackson, Texas and a number of other relatives and friends.

    Memorial Funeral Services with full honors will be held 10 a.m., Saturday, July 25, 2015 at the First Baptist Church, New Boston with Revs. Ronnie and Melissia Roberts officiating. There is no set visitation.

    http://www.ktbs.com/story/29556155/c...-unit-prisoner
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Charges still not filed against inmate accused in Telford officer death

    NEW BOSTON, TX (KSLA) - Official charges still have not been filed against the inmate who allegedly killed an East Texas correctional officer last month inside the Telford unit in New Boston.

    A spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said that Billy Joel Tracy has been transferred to the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas.

    When first reported, investigators said correctional officer Timothy Davison was escorting Tracey back to his cell when the inmate allegedly assaulted the officer with a metal rod.

    Davison later succumbed to his injuries.

    The Office of the Inspector General is heading the investigation and the Bowie County District Attorney said the intent of his office is to prosecute Tracy once charges are filed.

    Tracy was serving a life sentence for aggravated assault and burglary of a habitation. He was also convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with serious bodily injury on a public servant and possession of a deadly weapon in a penal institution and is serving 45 years for those offenses.

    Officer Davison began working at the Barry Telford Unit in New Boston last December.

    http://www.ksla.com/story/29785034/c...-officer-death
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Grand jury issues capital murder indictment for Telford inmate accused in beating death of guard

    By Field Walsh
    txktoday.com

    A Bowie County grand jury handed down an indictment for capital murder Thursday in the July beating death of a Telford Unit correctional officer.

    Billy Joel Tracy, 38, was already serving a life sentence when he allegedly wriggled a hand free from cuffs, grabbed Officer Timothy Davison’s tray slot bar, and started pounding the rookie guard. Capital murder is punishable by death or life without parole.

    Davison, 47, had been employed with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for less than a year when he was killed July 15. Tracy was being kept in Administrative Segregation, allowed out of his cell for recreation only an hour per day, when the deadly assault took place.

    According to the indictment, Tracy used a tray slot bar to beat Davison to death. The bars are used by officers in the prison to push open a piece of metal covering a rectangular slot in an inmate’s cell door so things such as meals can be pushed through without actually opening the door.

    TDCJ was well aware of Tracy’s violent nature and willingness to assault his captors. In 1995 Tracy was convicted of retaliation in Tarrant County. Tracy was convicted of assault on a public servant, burglary of a habitation and aggravated assault in Rockwall County in 1998 and received a life sentence, with parole possible.

    Since being imprisoned on those offenses, Tracy has guaranteed himself decades of lock-down by attacking correctional officers. In 2005, he received three 45-year terms for beating a TDCJ officer in Potter County and in 2009 he was given another 10 years for assaulting a guard in Jones County.

    In many death penalty cases, defense lawyers argue the potential for future violence goes away when a defendant is locked up for life with no hope of parole. But Tracy has managed to be a danger even in the most restrictive prison environment.

    Prosecutors are likely to argue that the death penalty may be the only way to deal with a man like Tracy.

    Offense History:

    Offense Date Offense Sentence Date County Case No. Sentence (YY-MM-DD)
    1995-02-26 RETALIATION 1995-05-02 TARRANT 0576194D 3-00-00
    1998-01-27 ASSAULT (PUBLIC SERVANT) 1998-07-31 ROCKWALL 2-98-139 20-00-00
    1998-01-27 BURG HAB 1998-07-31 ROCKWALL 2-98-140 9999-99-99
    1998-01-27 AGG ASLT 1998-07-31 ROCKWALL 2-98-141 9999-99-99
    2005-11-20 AGG ASLT W/A DEADLY WEAPON ON PU 2007-04-05 POTTER 54,085 45-00-00
    2005-11-20 AGG ASLT-SBI ON PUBLIC SERVANT 2007-04-05 POTTER 54,085-E 45-00-00
    2005-11-20 POSS OF DEADLY WEAPON IN A PENAL 2007-04-05 POTTER 54,085-E 45-00-00
    2009-01-11 ASLT PUBLIC SERVANT 2011-11-07 JONES 010512 10-00-00
    http://txktoday.com/news/grand-jury-...eath-of-guard/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member Member Big Jon's Avatar
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    This, guys and gals, is a reason why we put people to death. The offender didn't do anything to warrant the DP in the first place but I hope this highlights the reason to support the DP.

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    Death penalty sought in slaying of Telford guard

    Suspect has long history of violence

    By Lynn LaRowe
    The Texarkana Gazette

    NEW BOSTON, Texas — The state will seek the death penalty for a Texas prison inmate accused of beating a guard to death at the Telford unit in New Boston in July.

    Bowie County District Attorney Jerry Rochelle made the announcement at an arraignment hearing Friday afternoon for Billy Joel Tracy, 38, before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart. Tracy is accused of beating correctional officer Timothy Davison with a metal tray slot bar during a routine escort July 15, according to Tracy's indictment.

    Several Texas Department of Criminal Justice officers surrounded Tracy during the hearing. Tracy, who wore black rimmed glasses and a white jumpsuit with "Ad Seg" printed on the back in red block letters, spoke after his lead defense attorney, Mac Cobb of Mount Pleasant, Texas, asked Lockhart to order TDCJ to allow Tracy "reasonable" access to "personal property," such as a toothbrush.

    "My personal property that I had at Telford was confiscated by OIG (Office of Inspector General)," Tracy said.

    Rochelle responded by stating that the contents of Tracy's cell in Telford are being held as evidence.

    "How is a radio, a hot pot and Ramen noodles, how is that evidence?," Tracy asked.

    Cobb whispered something to Tracy and the inmate did not speak again.

    Earlier in the hearing, Rochelle handed a large box to the defense.

    "This box contains copies of everything in the DA's possession," Rochelle said. "There are still some lab reports and supplemental reports we anticipate receiving. We will provide those to the defense as we receive them."

    Rochelle said his office will provide Tracy's lawyers with a copy of video surveillance footage which recorded the attack on Davison.

    Lockhart said he is granting defense motions for an investigator and for appointment of a mitigation expert. When Tracy was indicted by a Bowie County grand jury last month, Lockhart appointed Cobb and Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson to defend him. Both are "death qualified," meaning they have met certain requirements necessary to handle a case in which the state is seeking the ultimate punishment. A mitigation expert's job is to find information that might lead a jury to sentence Tracy to life in prison without parole rather than death by lethal injection.

    Tracy is currently being held in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, which is nearly four hours away from the Bowie County courthouse. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said her office has discussed moving Tracy to a closer prison so he can meet with his defense team more easily.

    "I've spoken with TDCJ and it is just not practical to house him at Telford," Crisp said. "They can move him to Coffield. It's not that close but it's closer than Livingston."

    The Coffield Unit is in Tennessee Colony, Texas, about three hours from New Boston.

    Lockhart told Cobb he wants a tentative trial date from the defense at Tracy's next pretrial hearing, Feb. 26. Lockhart said he does not want to start jury selection later than October because he doesn't want to lose potential jurors who might avoid service during the holiday season.

    At the end of the hearing Tracy was returned to the Polunsky Unit.

    Tracy has a long history of violence both in and out of prison. Tracy's prison history began in 1995 when he was just 18 and sentenced to a three-year term for retaliation in Tarrant County. Three years later, in 1998, Tracy was sentenced to life, with parole possible, plus 20 years for burglary, aggravated assault and assault on a public servant in Rockwall County.

    In 2005, Tracy received an additional 45-year term for stabbing a guard with a homemade weapon at a TDCJ unit in Amarillo. Tracy was sentenced to 10 years in 2009 for attacking a guard at a TDCJ unit in Abilene.

    Tracy's violent behavior toward prison staff led to his placement in administrative segregation where he is allowed out of his cell for an hour each day for recreation. Davison, who had less than a year of experience with TDCJ, was walking Tracy back to his cell in administrative segregation when Tracy allegedly managed to free one of his cuffed hands, grab Davison's tray slot bar and use it like a baseball bat to beat him. Tray slot bars are used to manipulate the rectangular opening in a cell door at mealtime.

    If convicted of capital murder, Tracy faces life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.

    http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news...-guard/412829/


    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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