James H. Byrd, Jr. Unit

The James "Jay" H. Byrd, Jr. Unit (DU) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for men located in Huntsville, Texas. The 93acre diagnostic unit, established in May 1964, is 1mi north of Downtown Huntsville on Farm to Market Road 247. The prison was named after James H. Byrd, a former prison warden.The facility is the TDCJ's primary prisoner intake facility in Huntsville. All male death row offenders and male offenders with life imprisonment without parole enter the TDCJ system through Byrd. From there, the inmates with life without parole sentences go on to their assigned facilities. Male death row offenders go on to the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, and female death row offenders go on to the Mountain View Unit.Notable inmates John William King, perpetrator of the murder of James Byrd Jr., a man who has the same name as the warden that Byrd Unit was named after. King arrived on February 25, 1999 for diagnostic purposes.