Eleven Days in Hell: The 1974 Carrasco Prison Siege at Huntsville, Texas

Nineteen—“I could have grabbed his gun.”

221 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 get safe passage out in that yard and keep those hostages safe, as you have up to this point.” The hostage-taker shot back, “So, then you are saying you are not going to cooperate no more?” In a quiet, calm voice, the director replied, “We’re perfectly willing to cooperate. In fact, we want to cooperate to a greater degree than we have.” Easing up slightly, Carrasco asked, “In what sense?” Estelle replied, “In the sense that we will guarantee you safe passage from that building and full protection with not only your attorney but the public media to witness it.” Carrasco could not resist the sarcasm. “To witness what? My execution?”2 Incredibly, in the midst of all the violence, Montemayor and Carrasco began discussing an autobiographical book telling the convicted Chapter Nineteen “I could have grabbed his gun.” —Father O’Brien, hostage 222 CHAPTER NINETEEN murderer’s life story. The idea had a partial genesis in one of the idle conversations Carrasco had with some hostages. “We did a lot of talking when we could,” said Linda Woodman. “As silly as it sounds, sometimes we would just say, ‘you know, this whole thing’s going to make a big movie’—just to get his reaction and get him on something that might have a more pleasant ending than the ending we thought we were going to have,” she related shuddering at that possibility. “We were just trying to get him to know he didn’t want his reputation ruined by massacre and killing all of us. He would go out in some sort of a blaze of glory and it would be successful. Carrasco had said he wanted his story told . . . whatever ending it may have. So, yes, he did start talking about a book”.3 Father O’Brien remembered that Carrasco told him he had written a book on his life while he was in the Bexar County jail. Some of the hostages felt this project was to be his obituary; that he was preparing to die. Even Estelle thought of the biography as being Carrasco’s legacy. How did eleven totally innocent men and women—of whom Carrasco had said just moments ago he wanted “to kill”—slip so quickly from his twisted mind? The book idea came to light when Montemayor told Carrasco, “A national magazine got in touch with me about exclusive rights to a book. Fred, I could check into that because there is a lot of money in that. And, I want you to go ahead and let me do this. And you set it up how you want it, the monetary situation and all of that.” The lawyer explained how he would take Carrasco’s information on tape in the presence of witnesses so it would recorded exactly. He would also cover “what you’re going to pay me for my services when I do that concerning the royalties and what’s going to go to you and to your family.”4 Carrasco was quick to insist, “No, nothing for me. I don’t want anything.” When the attorney reminded him that it was “for your family,” he agreed “that’s the main thing.” Anticipating that answer, Montemayor acknowledged, “I’ve got that arranged already and I think it’s a real good thing, Fred.”5 Carrasco did want “a book, or a movie; something about the whole mess of my life. This is what I would like to be for the little kids, right? For their education. What would you advise 223 “I COULD HAVE GRABBED HIS GUN.” me to do?”6 As always with a good lawyer, Montemayor expected the question and had an answer ready. He said, “I want you to tell me on tape that you give me that right, Fred, so that I can go ahead because the way the situation is now, Fred, if you’re not around, there’d be no way that anybody could get anything now. I think you should write it down exactly that you give me that exclusive right, and then it’ll be on tape, Cuate, and then, whatever happens, happens.” Carrasco told the lawyer...