Mountain View Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison housing female offenders in Gatesville, Texas. The unit, with about 97 acres (39 ha) of land, is located 4 miles (6.4 km) north of central Gatesville on Farm to Market Road 215. The prison is located in a 45 minute driving distance from Waco. In addition to its other functions, Mountain View Unit houses the state's female death row inmates.
Death row offenders are housed separately from the rest of the prisoners in single-person cells measuring 60 square feet (5.6 m2), with each cell having a window. They do not have recreation individually. They are allowed to watch television, and all have a radio.
Karla Faye Tucker, executed February 3, 1998 was the first woman to be executed in Texas since 1863. The most recent female to be executed was Frances Newton, executed on 14 September 2005.
Among the better known death row offenders at Mountain View are Linda Carty, Brittany Holberg, and Darlie Routier.
A notable woman in the prison is Yolanda Saldivar, the murderer of Tejano superstar, Selena. Saldivar shot and killed her on March 31, 1995, in Selena's hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. Saldivar is sentenced to life imprisonment. She is eligible for parole in March 2025.
The facility is not signposted from the area main highway.
Read more about Mountain View Unit: History, Operation, Notable Inmates
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