Walking George: The Life of George John Beto and the Rise of the Modern Texas Prison System

Chapter 4. The Texas Prison Board: Beto, Coffield, and Ellis (1953–1959)

THE TEXAS PRISON BOARD: BETO, COFFIELD, AND ELLIS (1953–1959) Beto’s appointment to the Prison Board was a political act, and politics played a role in the governor’s decision. Even though Beto’s mother was an ardent Republican, Beto, already during his years as a student in Milwaukee, believed that the Republican party lacked “a social conscience.”1 When Beto arrived in Texas in 1939 the Republican Party was a mere shadow, so Beto affiliated with the Democrats, the only party in town. Ever since the end of Reconstruction , the Democrats had easily defeated the Republicans, and the real struggles for political office took place not on the first Tuesday in November, but on the date of the party primary. Although the Texas Democrats supported Franklin Roosevelt and his vice president, “Cactus Jack” Garner, a Texan, during the first two terms, an increasing number of voters became disenchanted with the New Deal. This was true especially after Roosevelt chose to run for a third term and Garner decided not to be Roosevelt’s running mate. During the ensuing years this disenchantment grew into a division within the party between the conservatives, symbolized by W. Lee O’Daniel and Coke R. Stevenson, and the liberals, personified by Ralph Yarborough and Lyndon B. Johnson. Governor Buford Jester, a conservative, kept the party together in 1948 to support Harry Truman, and Beto joyfully reported Truman’s upset victory over Thomas Dewey to 59 Chapter4 his students. But Truman’s stand on tidelands oil, whereby the offshore oil became the property of the nation instead of the various coastal states, widened the divide between the Democratic factions. In 1952, when Adlai Stevenson adopted the Truman position, and when Dwight D. Eisenhower came out in support of the oil belonging to the coastal states, the conservative Democrats, including Beto, joined with the Republicans to carry the state for Eisenhower.2 Following the death of Governor Jester, Lieutenant Governor Allan Shivers became governor and preserved power for the conservative Democrats. In the 1952 primary, Shivers handily defeated the liberal Ralph Yarborough and continued to serve as governor until 1957. Beto, although living in a precinct that favored the liberal faction, supported Shivers, and that support eventually turned into admiration. Referring to an event at a party convention, Beto wrote to Shivers: “Your handling of the extremely delicate situation of last Friday was masterful.”3 In 1957, Shivers was succeeded by another conservative, Price Daniel. Beto actively supported Daniel and received thanks from the party leadership for his role in helping Daniel achieve a “lopsided victory” in the election.4 Beto admitted to never having considered public service prior to the appointment, but when Governor Shivers phoned him in late January 1953, all that changed: Shivers, whom I didn’t know, called me one day and advised me that he understood I was a friend of his, and that he liked to have his friends do things for him. He told me that he wanted to appoint me to the Prison Board. . . . He said it was Beauford Jester’s policy and his policy to appoint prominent businessmen in the State to that board, but he believed I could make some contribution. He also told me that O. B. Ellis was doing a good job and that the prison had made remarkable progress, and he cautioned me against being a disruptive influence on the Board. He also asked me to survey all of the prison units and report back to him, which I did.5 Thus began Beto’s involvement with penology. The person who had vacated the position that Beto would occupy was a college 60 W A L K I N G G E O R G E professor, so Shivers was able to fill the post with another academician as well as a theologian. When the boys at Concordia, aware of their own resistance to authority, heard of the new job for their president, they heartily approved. After all, they had provided him with all the experience he would need in his new position. Not everyone was immediately comfortable with Shivers’ choice to fill the vacancy on the board with Beto. Shivers had not consulted with either O. B. Ellis or H. H. Coffield, an influential member of the Prison Board, and they did not know how a “preacher” would fit in. So, shortly after the appointment, the two men appeared...