I visited the Luther Unit near Navasota several years ago. The sound of that door closing behind you is memorable. I had a buddy of mine that did time at the Pack Unit, then was moved to the Walls before he was released. He said it was a sobering thing to walk past the death house every day.
There was something of a crime spree back in the early 90s among guys at my small town high school. One guy did time in Oklahoma for 2nd degree murder; killed a guy in a gang shooting. His story, to me, is exceptionally sad because he was a brilliant kid, and probably had one of the highest IQs at our school. But, he was accused of being an Uncle Tom and fell in with the wrong crowd.
Two other guys raped and killed a runaway from a nearby group home. One of the guys was bad news from elementary school. I never liked him. As far as I know, he's still in. I think he got life which, at that time, meant a minimum of 40 years before he's eligible for parole. The other guy was another sad story. Gifted athlete that I always found to be very laid back and likable. Apparently, he turned into the complete opposite when he drank. He was executed about 15 years ago. I'm not excusing what he did by any stretch. It's just the guy I knew and the one who committed that horrible crime were not the same people.