Texas Prisons: A Closer Look At The Number Of Incarcerated Women

• The number of women in Texas prisons has grown by more than 1,000 percent since 1980.
• Texas has more women behind bars than any other state.
• Texas also has more men behind bars than any other state.

Texas prisons have become big business with billions of dollars spent on housing inmates in private prisons all over the state. Though in 2023 our prison population is down 1.57% over 2020, we are still number one in the U.S.

According to wisevoter.com around 9 percent of that prison population is made up of women. While the total number of male prisoners has gone down 1.82% since 2020, the female population is up 1.45%.

There are an estimated 10,509 females currently in Texas prisons. The worst of those offenders are in the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas.

Over 80% Of Female Prisoners In Texas Are Mothers 

Inmates of note in the Mountian View prison include Kimberly Clark Saenz, Yolanda Saldivar, Linda Carty, Brittany Holberg, and Darlie Routier. Carty and Holberg are both on death row awaiting execution.

They are housed in a red brick, one-story building that was first used to house psychiatric patients. Ironically at Mountian View Unit, there is no mountain or a view.

Texas has not executed any female prisoners in almost 10 years. The last inmate to be executed was Lisa Coleman on September 17, 2014.

Looking at past statistics, Texas generally executes 3 women prisoners every 10 years or so. It’s just a quick observation, but looking at the trends and averages, time may be short for the six women awaiting execution.

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