For a period Goree held the state's sole female death row inmate, until her conviction was changed to a non-capital offense.

The unit was named after Major Thomas J. Goree, who, in the late 19th century, served as a prison superintendent.

[4] Goree, within a short driving distance from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice headquarters, had been rebuilt and expanded during the administrations of O.

Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, said that Goree's main building "showcases a bygone nod to rehabilitation.

"[5] On one occasion Goree held a female death row prisoner, Mary Anderson,[6] Texas Department of Corrections (TDC)# 607.