Texas Youth Commission Gatesville State School for Boys
circa 1974-1977
Crises Intervention Center (CIC) aka Lock Up
During a time when TYC was spending everything it could to
protect itself from Federal intervention in the form of the Morales vs. Turman law
suit, the Gatesville facility was on life support. The Gatesville reception
center where all new male inmates arriving to TYC had been moved to a newer
facility in Brownwood and 2 wings at the old reception center in Gatesville
were striped to nothing and used for CIC. According to historical witnesses this
was an upgrade from the facility used at Hilltop.
Many of the boys who would have otherwise wound up in the
Gatesville facility were rerouted to the recently made co-ed state school girls
in Gainesville, the boy’s home in Giddings or remained in Brownwood and sent up
the hill to the main school. At the time the old colored school for girls in
Crocket was being used as a co-ed wilderness program.
A court order from the MvT case forced staff to stop the
random beatings of juvenile inmates and many Gatesville dorm staff quit their
state jobs because of a fear they would be unable to control the population.Those
that stayed either evolved or were let go with cause, while those who struggled
and having seniority were transferred to work CIC.
Maximum length of stay was 3 days; any stay longer up to 10
days required a phone call to Austin. Any stay longer than 10 days up to 30
days required a letter stating reason and every 30 days thereafter. There was
only one rule in CIC, absolute quietness. Violation of this rule, depending on
the mood of the staff, the penalty was deeper isolation in another wing and
generally came with a beating. If you became loud enough to be heard in the
other wing the penalty was being hung on the wall, also accompanied with a
beating. The beating was always 2 or more grown men to one boy.
To accommodate the hanging of a boy on the wall the cell had
tall windows with thick bars. The widows at one time could be opened but were
sealed. However there was enough room to place a handcuff between the bar and
outer thick glass on each side of the window and hang a boy by his wrist where
he stood on tiptoe. Minimum length for hanging on the wall was 2 hours. Further
noise rule violation would increase the time and in many cases was accompany
with a beating.
For TYC at this time this methodology was considered humane
in comparison to the decades earlier.
