Eleven Days in Hell

Contents

Download PDF (47.5 KB)
pp. vii-

Acknowledgments

Download PDF (40.2 KB)
pp. xi-xiii

Introduction

Download PDF (202.3 KB)
pp. 1-2

"From one o’clock on the white-hot afternoon of July 24, 1974, until shortly before ten o’clock on the balmy, moonlit night of August 3, 1974, it was—without a doubt—eleven days in hell inside the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Prison in east Texas. It was hell for the eleven civilians held captive and subjected to..."

One—“Stop right there or I’ll kill you!”

Download PDF (280.8 KB)
pp. 3-13

"Ronald (Ron) Wayne Robinson kept looking at his watch, anxious to get home for his daughter Sheryle’s eleventh birthday party that night. Aline V. House was kicking herself for forgetting to bring her bloodpressure medication to work. Bobby G. Heard kept..."

Two—“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Download PDF (115.7 KB)
pp. 14-24

"The Texas Legislature created the Windham School District in the Texas Department of Corrections in 1968. It was subject to the certification requirements and regulations of the Texas Education Agency and the State Board of Education. Its purpose was to..."

Three—“There’s a man up here with a gun.”

Download PDF (68.7 KB)
pp. 25-33

"Joseph John O’Brien was born June 20, 1928, behind Chicago’s famous stockyards. The youngest of three children, with a brother and a sister, he was the first of the Irish family to be born in the United States. Their mother emigrated from Donegal and their father from..."

Four—“Fred, what the hell are you doing?”

Download PDF (59.3 KB)
pp. 34-42

"After ordering all but the most essential civilian employees out of the Walls and clearing the yards and inside compound of all inmates by returning them..."

Five—“I’m scared and sick, just sick.”

Download PDF (121.0 KB)
pp. 43-50

"In the first hour of the takeover, Carrasco instructed the hostage inmates to build a barricade inside the educational complex doorway. File cabinets, tables, and portable shelves were moved in front of the glass..."

Six—“Put down your arms and surrender safely.”

Download PDF (83.1 KB)
pp. 51-59

"Montemayor’s contact with Carrasco seemed to bring progress. Carrasco assured him that if the authorities did not “charge me, the hostages will be safe.”1 A hand-written message from Estelle was sent to the..."

Seven—“He will kill those people.”

Download PDF (58.0 KB)
pp. 60-71

"Somewhere around one o’clock on Thursday morning, Father O’Brien made his last trip to the prison library. Fred Carrasco offered to let him sleep at home, “Or, if he wants to sleep here, it’s up to him.”¹ O’Brien..."

Eight—“My God! They’ve shot Mr. Robinson.”

Download PDF (89.2 KB)
pp. 72-84

"It was somewhere around seven o’clock on Thursday morning when Warden Husbands received the next telephone call from the library. “Some of the hostages,” he recalled, “said Carrasco was going to kill them if..."

Nine—“We die a million deaths.”

Download PDF (109.2 KB)
pp. 85-100

"At one point on Thursdau, things started looking up-somewhat. Tables were set up in the center of the library forming a dining area and the hostages ate the food the TDC sent up in short-lived comfort. They..."

Ten—“You play the cards you’re dealt.”

Download PDF (62.7 KB)
pp. 101-114

"Meanwhile, Fred Carrasco had a new reason to get nervous. Jim Estelle recalls the arrival of some unexpected guests. “Here comes a whole half-dozen of these big Hueys, an Army convoy of helicopters going on..."

Eleven—“We have more time.”

Download PDF (81.0 KB)
pp. 115-121

"That meal must have totally satiated Fred Carrasco and induced some sort of temporary amnesia. Amazingly and inexplicably, there was neither further conversation nor demands for weapons nor..."

Twelve—“If you want to come, just come ahead.”

Download PDF (50.2 KB)
pp. 137-130

"The morning sun bolted out of the swamps of western Louisiana, its rays slid across the Sabina River and spiked through the Piney Woods or East Texas. Another scorcher was on its way. The sun's..."

Thirteen—“We will assassinate everyone!”

Download PDF (117.7 KB)
pp. 131-142

"With their intelligence-gathering system in place, the Command POst returned to the task of formulating a plan for entering the library with an attack team, if necessary. No thought, scheme, nor concept, was rejected out of hand, no matter how far out of the box it might seem to be. Some ideas..."

Fourteen—“We will kill as many people as possible.”

Download PDF (63.7 KB)
pp. 143-156

"Federico Gomez Carrasco’s moods were hard for those in the Command Post to predict. On several occasions, TDC Director Estelle made, or authorized lawyer Ruben Montemayor to make, offers to Carrasco that..."

Fifteen—“You don’t treat women that way.”

Download PDF (130.6 KB)
pp. 157-170

"In the early morning hours of Saturday, Aline House— awake because of a painful back ache from sleeping on the library floor—saw some strange goings on in the room. Even at that hour, it was not dark in the..."

Sixteen—“I have the four aces and the joker.”

Download PDF (71.4 KB)
pp. 171-187

Fred Carrasco's two-day media scheme met with Estelle's approval, in spite of the many things the frantic and misguided hostages told the reporters, some highly critical of him and the Texas Department..."

Seventeen—“I’m going out of here, whether it’s alive or dead.”

Download PDF (75.4 KB)
pp. 188-206

"On Sunday, July 28, 1974, the NBC-TV Sunday Evening News broadcast with Floyd Kalber anchoring from New York City, the President Nixon impeachment story got prominent billing. Four of the..."

Eighteen—“Get ready because we’re going to start killing!”

Download PDF (62.2 KB)
pp. 207-220

"Henry Escamilla, less than two weeks away from his forty-first birthday, was a San Antonian serving five years on a shoplifting conviction. As a volunteer hostage, he sat almost completely silent throughout..."

Nineteen—“I could have grabbed his gun.”

Download PDF (251.7 KB)
pp. 221-231

"Once again, Carrasco demanded to talk to Estelle. 'Yes or No. Are you going to send me the bulletproof vests?'¹ Firmly, Estelle answered, 'No. There will be no body armor. You’ve got all the firepower you need to..."

Twenty—“Meet my demands or prepare for war.”

Download PDF (142.9 KB)
pp. 232-243

"In Huntsville, Texas, the morning sun rose at 5:38 a.m. on Tuesday, July 30, 1974—the Seventh Day in Hell for the hostages inside the Walls Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections. Satan himself was..."

Twenty-one—“I’m the executioner.”

Download PDF (147.6 KB)
pp. 244-253

"Week One of the Eleven Days in Hell would end at one o’clock as this eighth day and second week of horror began for the hostages. Federico Carrasco was contacted on Wednesday morning five minutes after his eight o’clock deadline..."

Twenty-two—“I demand that an armored truck be waiting.”

Download PDF (182.8 KB)
pp. 254-263

"In eight days, newly-installed President Gerald R. Ford would say, 'The long nightmare is over.' That may have been true for many of the people of the United States of America following the resignation of..."

Twenty-three—“If he’d only send out Linda Woodman.”

Download PDF (103.3 KB)
pp. 264-275

"During the preceding days of the siege, there were innumerable moments of panic for the hostages, but for Linda Woodman, the start of the tenth day was far more terrifying than anything she had been subjected..."

Twenty-four—“I’ll see y’all soon.”

Download PDF (317.4 KB)
pp. 276-286

"Of the original fifteen civilian and inmate hostages, twelve remained on Saturday, the third day of August. After Glennon Johnson’s departure following a medical emergency, Father Joseph O’Brien had..."

Twenty-five—“It’s Over.”

Download PDF (295.7 KB)
pp. 287-296

"Other than the horrible, deafening screech of the cart’s overburdened plastic wheels, everything went well through the first three right-angle turns, except for some confusion when Quiroz gave steering directions..."

Epilogue

Download PDF (32.3 KB)
pp. 297-302

"On August 3, 1999, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the final day of the siege, the educational complex at the Walls Unit was renamed the Beseda-Standley Building. It had been extensively remodeled, with exits from both the north and south ends, and fire escapes added. Fitting commemorative ceremonies were held along with some tearful reunions..."

Citations and Notes

Download PDF (88.6 KB)
pp. 303-330

Bibliography

Download PDF (57.8 KB)
pp. 331-333

Index

Download PDF (59.1 KB)
pp. 335-346