[2] The Telford Unit is operated by Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correctional Institutions Division, administered within Region II.

Taylor was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, a prison gang ("security threat group" in TDCJ parlance) and the death was a result of racial tension.

Taylor (TDCJ #765153 as a non-death row inmate) was serving a life sentence for aggravated robbery;[5] The prisoner stated that the stabbing was self-defense.

The inmate managed to free his hand from his handcuffs and grabbed the officer's slot pry tool and beat him in the head with it.

The accused inmate, Billy Joel Tracy, 38, who has a history of violent behavior, was sentenced to death in November 2017 for the crime.