33 Most Dangerous Prisoners Inside Texas Most Secure Prisons

33 - Holly Elkins.

Holly Ann Elkins was convicted for her role in the 2020 murder of Alyssa Ann Burkett who was the ex-girlfriend of Elkins' fiancé Andrew Beard and was shot and stabbed to death in a parking lot.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Elkins and Beard engaged in a months-long campaign of harassment against Burkett before the murder. This included planting a GPS tracker on her car, making false 911 calls, and placing drugs and a gun in her vehicle to try and have her arrested.

Leading up to the murder, Elkins' involvement continued to deepen. She accompanied Beard to stores where he purchased items used in the crime, such as a black rainsuit, dark makeup for a disguise, shotgun shells, and a knife.

During the murder itself, Elkins stayed at Beard's home with Burkett's young daughter and later attempted to create a false alibi for Beard by claiming he was with her at the time of the crime.

After a seven-day trial in April 2024, a jury convicted her on all counts. Elkins' former fiancé, Andrew Beard, had previously pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.

She is currently serving this sentence at Federal Medical Center, Carswell, a United States federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, for female inmates suffering primarily with special medical and mental health needs.

32 - Patrick Crusius.

Patrick Crusius was the perpetrator of the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on August 3, 2019, where he killed 23 people and injured 22.

The FBI investigated the event as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime. Prior to the attack, Crusius, who was 21 years old at the time, posted a manifesto online that expressed white nationalist and anti-immigrant views. He admitted to police that he had targeted Mexicans.

Crusius was charged with both federal and state crimes. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to 90 federal charges, including hate crimes and firearms violations, and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in the Louis C. Powledge Unit.

In a separate state case, he pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and, on April 21, 2025, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the state charges, which will be served concurrently.

31 - Timothy Wayne Shepherd.

Convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Tynesha Stewart, in March 2007, Shepherd was 27 years old at the time of the crime and he confessed to strangling Stewart after she refused to talk about a new relationship she had started at college.

Following the murder, Shepherd dismembered Stewart's body in his bathtub using a jigsaw and other tools. He then burned her remains on two barbecue grills on his apartment balcony and disposed of them in a dumpster.

In October 2008, Shepherd was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He had been held in the Harris County Jail on a $250,000 bond prior to his conviction.

He is currently incarcerated in one of the high security prisons somewhere in Texas.

30 - Aafia Siddiqui.

A Pakistani neuroscientist, Siddiqui was convicted in 2010 of attempted murder and assault against U.S. officers and employees.

The charges stemmed from an incident on July 18, 2008, in Ghazni, Afghanistan, where she was being held by Afghan police.

According to the U.S. government, while being questioned by a team of U.S. personnel, Siddiqui grabbed a U.S. Army officer's rifle and fired it at them. She was shot in the torso by a warrant officer who returned fire. She was subsequently transferred to the U.S. to face trial.

In September 2010, she was sentenced to 86 years in prison. She is currently serving her sentence at the Federal Medical Center Carswell, a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas.

29 - William Lewis Reece.

Convicted of crimes in both Oklahoma and Texas Reece's known criminal history includes kidnapping, and the murder of four young women and girls between the ages of 12 and 20 between 1986 and 1997.

Reece was convicted of two rapes in Oklahoma and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was released after serving 10 years.

After his release, he committed a series of abductions and murders in 1997. In 1998, he was convicted of kidnapping a woman who managed to escape and was sentenced to 60 years in prison in Texas.

While serving this sentence, DNA evidence from one of the 1997 murder victims, Tiffany Johnston, linked him to the crime. In 2016, Reece confessed to the murders of Johnston and three other victims: Laura Smither, Kelli Cox, and Jessica Cain, leading authorities to their burial sites.

Reece was sentenced to death in Oklahoma in 2021 for the murder of Tiffany Johnston. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to the murders of Laura Smither, Kelli Cox, and Jessica Cain in Texas and was given three life sentences.

He is currently incarcerated at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, which houses the state's death row.

28 - Kimberly Clark Saenz.

A former licensed vocational nurse, Saenz was convicted of capital murder and aggravated assault for injecting bleach into the dialysis lines of patients at a clinic in Lufkin, Texas.

The crimes occurred in 2008, and she was found guilty of murdering five patients and injuring five others.

The jury sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the capital murder charges, and three consecutive 20-year sentences for aggravated assault.

She is currently serving her sentence at the Patrick O'Daniel Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Gatesville, Texas.

27 - Kristen Gilbert.

Convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and two counts of attempted murder, former nurse Gilbert comitted her crimes while working at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northampton, Massachusetts.

She injected patients with lethal doses of epinephrine, a heart stimulant, causing them to go into cardiac arrest.

Prosecutors stated that Gilbert did this to create medical emergencies, or "codes," so she could respond to them and gain the attention of a security guard she was having an affair with.

Gilbert was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus 20 years and is currently incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth.

26 - Christine Paolilla.

Convicted of capital murder for the deaths of four people in Clear Lake City, Texas, on July 18, 2003, Paolilla was a teenager and a student at Clear Lake High School at the time of the murders.

The victims included two of her friends, Rachael Koloroutis and Tiffany Rowell, as well as Rowell's boyfriend, Marcus Precella, and his cousin, Adelbert Sanchez.

Paolilla, along with her then-boyfriend Christopher Snider, committed the murders during what was reportedly a plan to steal drugs from the house.

All four victims were shot multiple times, and Koloroutis was also struck in the head with the butt of a gun. Snider committed suicide before he could be apprehended by police.

As a minor at the time of the offense, Paolilla was not eligible for the death penalty. She was sentenced to life in prison. She is currently incarcerated at the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville and is eligible for parole in July 2046.

25 - Joshua Luke Bagwell.

Joshua Luke Bagwell was convicted of capital murder and conspiracy to commit capital murder in connection with the 1996 death of a 16-year-old cheerleader, Heather Rose Rich, in Montague County, Texas.

He received a life sentence for the capital murder conviction and a 99-year sentence for the conspiracy charge.

In 2002, while being held at the Montague County Jail for a court appearance, Bagwell, along with three other inmates, escaped. After a ten-day manhunt, he and one of the other escapees surrendered to authorities in Oklahoma after a six-hour hostage standoff.

Bagwell is currently incarcerated at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas, serving a life sentence where he will be eligible for parole in November 2036.

24 - Darlie Lynn Routier.

Charged with the capital murder of her six-year-old son, Devon, who was killed at the same time as that of her five-year-old son, Routier called 911 on June 6, 1996, stating that an intruder had broken into her home and stabbed her and her two sons.

When police arrived, they found Devon and Damon with multiple stab wounds. Routier had several knife wounds to her throat and arm.

At her trial, prosecutors argued that Routier had killed her sons and then inflicted the wounds on herself to stage the scene and blame an intruder. She was sentenced to death.

Darlie Routier is currently on death row at the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas, however doubts have been raised about the conviction after her husband said she was convicted on character assassination.

23 - Shannon Richardson.

Richardson was convicted for sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in May 2013.

She attempted to blame her estranged husband for the crime before investigators found inconsistencies in her story and learned she had purchased the materials to produce ricin online.

Richardson pleaded guilty to possession of a biological toxin and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

She is incarcerated at FMC Carswell, a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas.

22 - Vickie Dawn Jackson.

A former licensed vocational nurse, Dawn Jackson was convicted of capital murder for killing at least 10 patients at Nocona General Hospital in Nocona, Texas.

Between late 2000 and early 2001, she injected patients with a muscle paralytic drug called mivacurium. Authorities noted an unusual surge in patient deaths during this period.

Jackson maintained her innocence but pleaded no contest to the charges to avoid a jury trial and to prevent her daughter from having to testify, later sentenced to life in prison.

Vickie Dawn Jackson is currently incarcerated at the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Her earliest possible parole date is in 2042.

21 - Trey Eric Sesler

Sesler was convicted of capital murder for killing his parents and older brother in Waller, Texas, on March 20, 2012.

At the time of the murders, Sesler was a YouTuber who went by the alias "Mr. Anime." According to reports, he had a fascination with mass shootings and had planned to carry out a school shooting at Waller High School after killing his family.

He pleaded guilty to the three counts of capital murder and received a sentence of life in prison without parole. Trey Eric Sesler is currently serving his sentence at the Charles T. Terrell Unit in Rosharon.

20 - Jose Sifuentes

Serial killer Sifuentes was convicted of three counts of murder in Dallas, Texas. His crimes spanned from 1998 to 2003, during which he raped and strangled three women: Maria de Lourdes Perales, Erica Olivia Hernandez, and Veronica Hernandez.

In 2003, he was initially arrested for the murder of Veronica Hernandez, but he posted bail and fled to Mexico. While he was a fugitive for 16 years, DNA evidence linked him to the two earlier murders.

He was finally apprehended in Mexico in 2019 and extradited back to Texas the following year. In 2021, Sifuentes pleaded guilty to all three murders and was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences. He is currently incarcerated at the Clements Unit in Amarillo.

19 - David Dowler

Sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Leza Chandler in 1988, Dowler poisoned three acquaintances in Odessa, Texas, but was only ever convicted of one murder.

Dowler, a self-proclaimed "chemist" who had a fascination with poisons, murdered his victims by administering chloroform and cyanide.

He was convicted of murder in the death of Leza Chandler and received a life sentence, but due to insufficient evidence, he was not charged with the other deaths.

Dowler is currently incarcerated at the Clements Unit in Amarillo where he is serving a life sentence.

18 - Yaser Abdel Said

Egyptian-American Abdel Said was convicted of capital murder for the 2008 deaths of his two teenage daughters, Amina and Sarah. The girls were found shot to death in his abandoned taxi cab in Irving, Texas.

Said went into hiding after the murders and was a fugitive for 12 years, even making it onto the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

He was eventually captured in Justin, Texas, in 2020. In 2022, a jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and is currently incarcerated at the McConnell Unit in Beeville.

17 - Thomas Bartlett Whitaker

Convicted of capital murder for the 2003 deaths of his mother and brother in Sugar Land, Texas, Bartlett Whitaker or "Bart," as he was more well known, hired a gunman to kill his entire family to inherit an estate valued at over $1 million.

His mother, Tricia, and his younger brother, Kevin, were killed in the attack, while his father, Kent, survived despite being shot. Whitaker also faked an injury to appear as a victim. He was sentenced to death in 2007.

After a long legal process and a strong campaign for clemency led by his father, who had forgiven him, Governor Greg Abbott commuted Whitaker's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Whitaker is currently incarcerated at the McConnell Unit in Beeville.

16 - Robert Leslie Roberson III

In 2003, Robert Leslie Roberson the third, brought his daughter to the hospital in 2002, stating that she had fallen from their bed and was unresponsive.

After he death several days later, She was later found to have suffered from "shaken baby syndrome," yet, Roberson claimed his daughter died of natural or accidental causes.

The prosecution's case relied on this diagnosis to aquire the conviction, however, Roberson's legal team and other advocates have argued that new medical and scientific evidence proves his innocence.

He was sentenced to death and is currently on death row. He is incarcerated at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston.

15 - Danish Minhas

Danish Moazzam Minhas was convicted of the murder of his mother, Tabassum Khan, in Houston, Texas.

In November 2009, when he was 17, Minhas and a high school classmate, Nur J. Mohamed, conspired to kill his mother. Minhas confessed to investigators that he hired Mohamed to carry out the murder because he felt his mother was too strict and controlling.

Mohamed then fatally stabbed Tabassum Khan multiple times. Minhas initially went to trial for capital murder, but in 2014, he pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for a 50-year prison sentence.

His accomplice, Nur J. Mohamed, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The current location of Minhas is unknown.

14 - Shawn Allen Berry

Shawn Allen Berry was convicted of capital murder for his role in the 1998 death of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas, with the crime being one of the most shocking that law enforcement had ever witnessed.

Byrd, who was African American, was chained to the back of Berry's pickup truck by his ankles and dragged for three miles, killed after his body struck a culvert.

Berry was tried and convicted along with two other men, Lawrence Brewer and John King. Unlike Brewer and King, who received the death penalty, Berry was sentenced to life in prison.

He is currently incarcerated at the Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas, and will be eligible for parole in June 2038.

13 - Steven Hobbs

A former security guard, Hobbs was convicted of two counts of murder and three counts of sexual assault. He was also a suspect in the murders of several other women.

Between 2002 and 2010, Hobbs preyed on women in the Houston and Harris County, Texas, areas. The victims were sexually assaulted, and two were murdered, Patricia Ann Pyatt in 2002 and Sarah Annette Sanford in 2010.

In 2022, Hobbs pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He is currently incarcerated at the Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas.

12 - William Lewis Reece

In 1998, Reece was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and sentenced to 60 years in prison for a 1997 abduction in Texas. Years later, DNA evidence linked him to a 1997 cold case murder in Oklahoma.

His victims, who were young and brunette, were often abducted after he posed as a good Samaritan to help them with car trouble or other issues.

After being charged, Reece confessed to several murders from that same year. He admitted to killing Laura Smither, Jessica Cain, and Kelli Cox in Texas, as well as Tiffany Johnston in Oklahoma.

Reece was sentenced to death in Oklahoma for the murder of Tiffany Johnston. In Texas, he pleaded guilty to the three murders and received three life sentences. He is currently incarcerated at the Allan B. Polunsky.

11 - Juan David Ortiz

A former U.S. Border Patrol agent, Ortiz was convicted of capital murder for a series of killings in Webb County, Texas, in September 2018.

He murdered four women: Melissa Ramirez, Claudine Anne Luera, Guiselda Alicia Cantu, and Janelle Ortiz.

He also attacked a fifth woman who managed to escape and alert authorities, which led to his capture. Ortiz confessed to the crimes and reportedly stated that he wanted to "clean up the streets."

Ortiz was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is currently serving his sentence at a prison outside of Houston.

10 - Lyle Brummett

Lyle Richard Brummett was convicted of two counts of murder for crimes committed in Texas between 1975 and 1976.

He, along with an accomplice strangled two teenage girls, Carol Ann London and Elizabeth "Beth" Pearson, in 1975.

The following year, he raped and strangled another woman, Dianne Kathleen Roberts.

Brummett was apprehended in 1977 and pleaded guilty to two of the murders, for which he received two life sentences. He is currently incarcerated at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit.

9 - Eddie Ray Routh

Eddie Ray Routh was convicted of capital murder for the 2013 shooting deaths of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. The murders occurred at a shooting range in Erath County, Texas.

Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the range to help him. After the murders, Routh fled in Kyle's truck and was later arrested after a standoff with police.

During his trial, Routh's defense team argued that he was insane at the time of the killings due to a severe mental disease or defect. However, prosecutors presented evidence that Routh was a troubled drug user who knew right from wrong, despite any mental illnesses.

The jury rejected the insanity defense and found Routh guilty of capital murder.

Since prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, Routh was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is currently incarcerated at the Ramsey Unit in Rosharon.

8 - Howard Paul Guidry

Howard Paul Guidry was convicted of capital murder for the 1994 death of Farah Fratta in Harris County, Texas. Prosecutors alleged that he was hired by Farah Fratta's estranged husband, Robert Fratta, to act as the gunman in a murder-for-hire plot.

Guidry's first conviction in 1997 was overturned by a federal judge in 2003, who found that his confession was coerced and that hearsay testimony was improperly used at trial. A higher court affirmed the decision, but instead of being released, Guidry was retried in 2007.

At his second trial, prosecutors presented new evidence, including testimony from witnesses who said Guidry had confessed to them. The jury again found him guilty of capital murder, and he was sentenced to death.

Howard Paul Guidry is currently on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit.

7 - Elmer Wayne Henley

Elmer Wayne Henley was an accomplice to serial killer Dean Corll in a series of murders known as the "Houston Mass Murders" that occurred between 1970 and 1973.

Along with another accomplice, David Brooks, Henley helped Corll lure and murder at least 28 teenage boys and young men. The crimes came to light when Henley, at the age of 17, shot and killed Corll in self-defense and then called the police.

He subsequently confessed to his role in the murders and led authorities to multiple gravesites.

Henley was brought to trial in 1974 and was convicted of six counts of murder. He was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences. A later appeal was successful, but he was again convicted of six murders in 1979 and resentenced to life imprisonment.

Henley is currently incarcerated at the Telford Unit in Bowie County and has been up for parole multiple times and has been denied on each occasion.

6 - David Ray Conley The Third

Convicted of capital murder for the 2015 shooting deaths of eight people in Harris County, Texas, the victims included his former partner, Valerie Jackson, her husband, Dwayne Jackson, and six children, some of whom were his own.

Conley broke into their home, held the family hostage, and ultimately shot and killed all eight of them.

During his trial, prosecutors initially sought the death penalty but later withdrew it after conceding that Conley was considered to have a mental disability. He was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

David Ray Conley III is currently incarcerated at the W.J. Estelle Unit in Huntsville.

Number 5 - Jason Thornburg

Jason Thornburg was convicted of capital murder for the deaths of David Lueras, Lauren Phillips, and Maricruz Mathis in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2021.

The three victims bodies were found in a burning dumpster. After his arrest, Thornburg confessed to the murders and stated that he believed he was called by God to "commit sacrifices."

He also confessed to two other murders: his roommate Mark Jewell in Texas in 2021 and his girlfriend Tanya Begay in Arizona in 2017. At his trial for the Fort Worth murders, the defense argued that Thornburg was insane at the time of the killings due to a mental illness.

The prosecution, however, argued that he was legally sane and capable of planning his actions. The jury found him guilty of capital murder and, during the punishment phase of the trial, they sentenced him to death.

Jason Thornburg is currently on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston.

Number 4 - Eric Lyle Williams

A former justice of the peace in Kaufman County, Texas, Lyle Williams was convicted of capital murder for the 2013 deaths of District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia.

He was also charged with the murder of First Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, who was killed earlier that year.

Williams' motive was revenge, as McLelland and Hasse had prosecuted him for theft, which resulted in his conviction, removal from office, and the loss of his law license.

Williams' trial was moved to Rockwall County due to extensive media coverage. During the trial, his wife, Kim Williams, testified against him, stating that she drove the getaway car in Hasse's murder and helped her husband with the disposal of weapons.

Prosecutors also presented evidence showing that Williams had a collection of guns, police tactical gear, and a "hit list" of targets. Despite his defense arguing that he was mentally ill, the jury found him guilty of capital murder and sentenced him to death.

Eric Lyle Williams is currently on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit.

Number 3 - Faryion Wardrip

Faryion Edward Wardrip is a serial killer convicted of the sexual assault and murder of five women in Texas between 1984 and 1986.

His first conviction was for the 1986 murder of Tina Kimbrew, for which he received a 35-year prison sentence. After serving only 11 years, he was paroled in 1997.

In 1999, new DNA evidence linked him to the 1984 murder of Terry Sims and the 1985 murder of Toni Gibbs. When confronted, Wardrip confessed to these murders as well as two others he had not previously been charged with.

He pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Terry Sims, and at a sentencing-phase trial, the state presented evidence of his other crimes. The jury sentenced him to death.

Wardrip is currently on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, where only the most dangerous prisoners in Texas are held.

Number 2 - Genene Jones

A former licensed vocational nurse, was a serial killer who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of up to 60 infants and children under her care in Texas during the 1970s and 1980s.

She became known as the "Angel of Death" because she would inject her young patients with lethal doses of drugs, such as succinylcholine or digoxin, to cause medical emergencies. It is believed she did this to then "save" them and appear as a hero.

In 1984, Jones was convicted of murder for the death of 15-month-old Chelsea McClellan and received a 99-year sentence. A concurrent 60-year sentence was given for the attempted murder of another child, Rolando Santos.

A Texas law that was in place at the time meant to alleviate prison overcrowding would have allowed her mandatory release in 2018. To prevent her release, prosecutors in San Antonio brought new murder charges against her in 2017.

Genene Jones, a former licensed vocational nurse, was a serial killer who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of up to 60 infants and children under her care in Texas during the 1970s and 1980s.

She became known as the "Angel of Death" because she would inject her young patients with lethal doses of drugs, such as succinylcholine or digoxin, to cause medical emergencies. It is believed she did this to then "save" them and appear as a hero.

In 1984, Jones was convicted of murder for the death of 15-month-old Chelsea McClellan and received a 99-year sentence. A concurrent 60-year sentence was given for the attempted murder of another child, Rolando Santos.

A Texas law that was in place at the time meant to alleviate prison overcrowding would have allowed her mandatory release in 2018. To prevent her release, prosecutors in San Antonio brought new murder charges against her in 2017.

In 2020, Jones pleaded guilty to the murder of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer, who died in 1981, as part of a plea deal. She was sentenced to life in prison. She will not be eligible for parole until she is in her late 80s.

She is currently incarcerated at the Lane Murray Unit in Gatesville, Texas.

Number 1 - Johnny Avalos

Known as "The San Antonio Strangler," Avalos was a serial killer who pleaded guilty to murdering five females in San Antonio, Texas, between 2012 and 2015.

His victims were Vanessa Lopez, Natalie Chavez, Rosemary Perez, Genevieve Ramirez, and Celia Lopez. Avalos would strangle his victims with his hands and sometimes with plastic bags.

Avalos was arrested in April 2015 after DNA evidence linked him to the crimes. Due to his intellectual disability, prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty.

In 2019, Avalos pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder and was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole.

He is currently incarcerated at the Preston E. Smith Unit in Lamesa.

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