1 00:00:13,115 --> 00:00:16,414 Huntsville, Texas became the center of national attention 2 00:00:16,980 --> 00:00:19,239 as a tense prison hostage crisis 3 00:00:19,939 --> 00:00:23,219 unfolded inside its 1st state prison known as 4 00:00:23,219 --> 00:00:24,279 the WALLS unit. 5 00:00:25,094 --> 00:00:28,135 For 11 days behind its 15 foot red 6 00:00:28,135 --> 00:00:31,274 brick wall in the sweltering summer of 1974, 7 00:00:32,869 --> 00:00:36,170 3 armed inmates held 15 people hostage, 8 00:00:36,869 --> 00:00:39,670 culminating in a violent shootout that left 2 9 00:00:39,670 --> 00:00:40,170 hostages 10 00:00:40,825 --> 00:00:42,284 and 2 inmates dead. 11 00:00:43,304 --> 00:00:46,344 The longest prison siege in American history started 12 00:00:46,344 --> 00:00:47,325 at 1 PM 13 00:00:47,704 --> 00:00:49,565 on Wednesday, July 24th 14 00:00:50,340 --> 00:00:50,840 1974, 15 00:00:51,940 --> 00:00:54,440 inside the unit's education building. 16 00:00:55,380 --> 00:00:57,719 Frederico Fred Gomez Carrasco, 17 00:00:58,445 --> 00:01:00,064 a 34 year old notorious 18 00:01:00,445 --> 00:01:02,924 drug lord serving a life sentence for the 19 00:01:02,924 --> 00:01:05,265 attempted murder of a San Antonio policeman, 20 00:01:05,805 --> 00:01:07,424 and 2 other armed inmates 21 00:01:07,870 --> 00:01:09,329 stormed the prison library 22 00:01:09,950 --> 00:01:12,590 located on the 3rd floor of the prison's 23 00:01:12,590 --> 00:01:13,730 education building. 24 00:01:14,670 --> 00:01:15,569 Fred Carrasco, 25 00:01:16,165 --> 00:01:19,944 infamously dubbed the Mexican connection by law enforcement, 26 00:01:20,484 --> 00:01:23,064 was the Pablo Escobar of his time. 27 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,620 A notorious drug lord whose empire and ruthless 28 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:27,260 tactics 29 00:01:27,799 --> 00:01:29,420 echoed those of the infamous 30 00:01:29,719 --> 00:01:30,859 Colombian kingpin. 31 00:01:31,885 --> 00:01:35,025 He ruled a vast cocaine and heroin empire 32 00:01:35,405 --> 00:01:37,744 spanning from San Diego to Chicago. 33 00:01:38,909 --> 00:01:41,090 Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, 34 00:01:41,469 --> 00:01:44,530 Carrasco embarked on his criminal journey at 15. 35 00:01:59,099 --> 00:02:01,659 By the late 19 sixties, he had ascended 36 00:02:01,659 --> 00:02:03,760 to the pinnacle of his illicit career. 37 00:02:04,655 --> 00:02:06,354 Operating from Nuevo Laredo, 38 00:02:06,974 --> 00:02:10,895 Carrasco maneuvered seamlessly across the United States and 39 00:02:10,895 --> 00:02:11,395 Mexico, 40 00:02:12,210 --> 00:02:14,069 largely undeterred by authorities. 41 00:02:15,090 --> 00:02:15,590 Carrasco's 42 00:02:16,050 --> 00:02:19,750 ruthless reputation was immortalized in Spanish ballads, 43 00:02:20,514 --> 00:02:22,455 celebrated in local dance halls 44 00:02:22,915 --> 00:02:24,294 and feared by many. 45 00:02:24,835 --> 00:02:27,655 He boasted about gunning down 47 men. 46 00:02:28,349 --> 00:02:31,250 His tales of violence and audacity earned him 47 00:02:31,310 --> 00:02:32,610 the fearsome moniker, 48 00:02:33,310 --> 00:02:34,129 El Senor, 49 00:02:34,590 --> 00:02:35,330 the man. 50 00:02:36,085 --> 00:02:39,125 His legend, marked by gun slinging bravado and 51 00:02:39,125 --> 00:02:42,085 a chilling body count, cemented his status as 52 00:02:42,085 --> 00:02:43,784 one of Texas' most feared 53 00:02:44,430 --> 00:02:46,610 and deadly figures in the drug trade. 54 00:02:47,870 --> 00:02:49,569 Aiden Carrasco were inmates, 55 00:02:49,949 --> 00:02:53,284 42 year old Ignacio Cuevas, considered by fellow 56 00:02:53,284 --> 00:02:55,144 convicts as a real nutcase, 57 00:02:56,084 --> 00:02:58,905 and 20 year old Rudolph Rudy Dominguez, 58 00:02:59,620 --> 00:03:02,200 described by the prison chaplain as a vicious 59 00:03:02,260 --> 00:03:04,360 man who believed in nothing. 60 00:03:05,540 --> 00:03:06,680 During their ordeal, 61 00:03:07,185 --> 00:03:10,224 the hostages believed Dominguez was the inmate most 62 00:03:10,224 --> 00:03:11,685 likely to harm them. 63 00:03:12,384 --> 00:03:14,644 Among the hostages was Anne Fleming, 64 00:03:15,069 --> 00:03:17,069 a 50 year old librarian who had been 65 00:03:17,069 --> 00:03:19,810 working at the prison for just 20 days. 66 00:03:20,909 --> 00:03:23,150 Just as the prison whistle blew to signal 67 00:03:23,150 --> 00:03:24,370 that lunch had ended, 68 00:03:24,825 --> 00:03:27,544 Carrasco rose to his feet and fired a 69 00:03:27,544 --> 00:03:29,965 single round into the ceiling of the library 70 00:03:30,264 --> 00:03:32,764 from a 3 57 caliber revolver. 71 00:03:33,550 --> 00:03:34,689 Carrasco shouted, 72 00:03:35,150 --> 00:03:37,889 Stop right there or I will kill you. 73 00:03:38,669 --> 00:03:41,870 Fleming recalled her experience during an interview 20 74 00:03:41,870 --> 00:03:42,530 years ago. 75 00:03:43,125 --> 00:03:45,205 The thing that really amazed me, she said, 76 00:03:45,205 --> 00:03:47,864 was how everyone men, women, guards 77 00:03:48,324 --> 00:03:49,305 was terrorized. 78 00:03:50,090 --> 00:03:50,909 I was afraid. 79 00:03:51,289 --> 00:03:54,189 I realized that there was no way out. 80 00:03:55,849 --> 00:03:59,275 Carrasco used an inmate trustee who worked outside 81 00:03:59,275 --> 00:04:00,735 the prison during the day 82 00:04:01,115 --> 00:04:02,974 to smuggle weapons and ammunition 83 00:04:03,275 --> 00:04:06,254 into the formidable red brick prison that dominates 84 00:04:06,474 --> 00:04:07,455 downtown Huntsville. 85 00:04:08,379 --> 00:04:10,959 His gang threatened to kill the inmate's family 86 00:04:11,099 --> 00:04:12,639 if he failed to cooperate. 87 00:04:13,900 --> 00:04:17,175 They concealed a 38 caliber revolver inside a 88 00:04:17,175 --> 00:04:18,314 hollowed out ham, 89 00:04:18,935 --> 00:04:22,375 wrapped 2 3 57 caliber revolvers in packages 90 00:04:22,375 --> 00:04:25,035 of meat, and hid hundreds of bullets 91 00:04:25,519 --> 00:04:27,699 inside a huge can of peaches. 92 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,420 This elaborate smuggling operation occurred before metal detectors 93 00:04:33,044 --> 00:04:36,745 became commonplace in prisons, airports, and government buildings. 94 00:04:37,925 --> 00:04:40,485 The prison system would have assigned Carrasco to 95 00:04:40,485 --> 00:04:42,345 a maximum security unit, 96 00:04:42,659 --> 00:04:45,639 but he was recovering from 3 gunshot wounds 97 00:04:45,939 --> 00:04:49,240 inflicted by San Antonio police a year earlier. 98 00:04:50,154 --> 00:04:53,435 Instead, officials confined him to the Medium Security 99 00:04:53,435 --> 00:04:56,235 Walls unit due to its proximity to a 100 00:04:56,235 --> 00:04:58,870 prison hospital and the lower risk of an 101 00:04:58,870 --> 00:04:59,850 escape attempt. 102 00:05:01,589 --> 00:05:03,850 The 5 foot-seven tall, 210 103 00:05:04,310 --> 00:05:07,664 pound dangerous inmate was given light duty as 104 00:05:07,664 --> 00:05:10,324 a janitor for father Joseph O'Brien, 105 00:05:10,785 --> 00:05:12,964 the 46 year old prison chaplain. 106 00:05:14,189 --> 00:05:18,029 Exploiting this position, Carrasco illicitly used the prison 107 00:05:18,029 --> 00:05:19,089 chapel's telephone 108 00:05:19,550 --> 00:05:22,210 to make long distance calls to his gang. 109 00:05:22,985 --> 00:05:24,845 When Carrasco seized the library, 110 00:05:25,225 --> 00:05:27,964 he revealed hundreds of rounds of ammunition 111 00:05:28,425 --> 00:05:31,085 that he had cunningly taped around his legs 112 00:05:31,479 --> 00:05:32,139 and concealed under 113 00:05:32,519 --> 00:05:33,259 his pants. 114 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:36,680 2 of the hostage takers opened fire on 115 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,819 Lieutenant Wayne Scott and Sergeant Bruce Nowinski 116 00:05:40,514 --> 00:05:43,095 when the unarmed officers ran up a ramp 117 00:05:43,154 --> 00:05:44,775 leading to the prison library. 118 00:05:45,555 --> 00:05:48,115 A bullet grazed the shirt worn by Wayne 119 00:05:48,115 --> 00:05:50,199 Scott, who is now the former director of 120 00:05:50,199 --> 00:05:52,379 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 121 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,720 and Nowinski received a flesh wound to his 122 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:56,540 left foot. 123 00:05:57,535 --> 00:05:59,235 After taking over the library, 124 00:05:59,854 --> 00:06:00,354 Hrozco 125 00:06:00,654 --> 00:06:03,794 barricaded the entrance with a large file cabinet. 126 00:06:04,230 --> 00:06:05,449 He forced hostages 127 00:06:05,830 --> 00:06:08,089 to take turns sitting on top of it 128 00:06:08,310 --> 00:06:10,170 to deter a rescue assault. 129 00:06:10,949 --> 00:06:13,430 The only entrance was a double plate glass 130 00:06:13,430 --> 00:06:16,134 door that opened to a 2 story tall, 131 00:06:16,134 --> 00:06:16,634 winding 132 00:06:17,014 --> 00:06:17,995 exit ramp. 133 00:06:18,774 --> 00:06:21,735 To prevent inmates from being distracted during school 134 00:06:21,735 --> 00:06:22,235 classes, 135 00:06:22,970 --> 00:06:25,529 the prison system had covered the library's windows 136 00:06:25,529 --> 00:06:26,269 with bricks, 137 00:06:26,889 --> 00:06:29,870 rendering officers unable to see inside or 138 00:06:30,250 --> 00:06:32,029 deploy tear gas canisters. 139 00:06:33,214 --> 00:06:34,754 As a result, they covertly 140 00:06:35,055 --> 00:06:38,334 monitored the situation by slipping a microphone down 141 00:06:38,334 --> 00:06:39,394 a pipe chase. 142 00:06:40,870 --> 00:06:44,629 Carrasco took 11 prison employees hostage, consisting of 143 00:06:44,629 --> 00:06:47,769 7 women and 4 men, plus an additional 144 00:06:47,829 --> 00:06:48,649 4 inmates. 145 00:06:49,685 --> 00:06:52,725 Father Joseph O'Brien, who initially acted as a 146 00:06:52,725 --> 00:06:53,225 messenger, 147 00:06:53,925 --> 00:06:56,165 volunteered to stay with the hostages after the 148 00:06:56,165 --> 00:06:58,564 release of one who suffered a heart attack 149 00:06:58,564 --> 00:06:59,709 during the first day. 150 00:07:00,730 --> 00:07:04,009 Carrasco immediately released 50 sex inmates in exchange 151 00:07:04,009 --> 00:07:05,310 for a TV set 152 00:07:05,769 --> 00:07:07,550 and 15 pairs of handcuffs 153 00:07:08,214 --> 00:07:10,235 used later to restrain the hostages. 154 00:07:11,654 --> 00:07:13,914 Carrasco demanded army m16 155 00:07:14,214 --> 00:07:16,770 rifles with full ammunition magazines 156 00:07:17,230 --> 00:07:19,330 and 100 rounds for each. 157 00:07:19,710 --> 00:07:23,250 Three bulletproof vest, helmets plus walkie talkies. 158 00:07:24,035 --> 00:07:26,995 Barrasca wasn't going any farther than the prison 159 00:07:26,995 --> 00:07:27,495 walls. 160 00:07:28,675 --> 00:07:32,115 The Texas Department of Corrections policy strictly forbade 161 00:07:32,115 --> 00:07:35,080 the release of prisoners in exchange for hostages, 162 00:07:35,939 --> 00:07:38,680 setting the stage for a prolonged standoff. 163 00:07:39,779 --> 00:07:43,275 The Hansel Adams newspaper published its first extra 164 00:07:43,275 --> 00:07:45,215 edition since World War 2, 165 00:07:45,595 --> 00:07:48,574 knocking President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal 166 00:07:49,180 --> 00:07:50,479 off the front page. 167 00:07:51,339 --> 00:07:53,120 As news of the siege spread, 168 00:07:53,500 --> 00:07:56,399 Huntsville transformed into a media circus. 169 00:07:56,964 --> 00:07:59,604 Reporters from across the country descended on the 170 00:07:59,604 --> 00:08:00,425 small town, 171 00:08:00,725 --> 00:08:02,185 broadcasting live updates 172 00:08:02,644 --> 00:08:04,824 and speculating on the fate of the hostages. 173 00:08:05,789 --> 00:08:08,370 The crisis became a national spectacle, 174 00:08:08,750 --> 00:08:11,789 with millions of Americans following the drama as 175 00:08:11,789 --> 00:08:12,610 it unfolded. 176 00:08:20,435 --> 00:08:21,654 Inside the library, 177 00:08:22,035 --> 00:08:24,615 the situation was tense and unpredictable. 178 00:08:25,810 --> 00:08:28,689 James Estelle junior, the director of the Texas 179 00:08:28,689 --> 00:08:31,509 Department of Corrections, known as the TDC then, 180 00:08:32,210 --> 00:08:32,950 and officials 181 00:08:33,330 --> 00:08:35,355 set up a command post in the warden's 182 00:08:35,355 --> 00:08:37,215 office dubbed the think tank. 183 00:08:37,915 --> 00:08:40,815 Estelle, assisted at times by Ruben Matamero, 184 00:08:41,519 --> 00:08:43,620 Carrasco's attorney from San Antonio, 185 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,259 engaged in marathon negotiations and used stalling tactics. 186 00:08:49,125 --> 00:08:52,565 The mercurial psychopath repeatedly threatened to shoot or 187 00:08:52,565 --> 00:08:55,125 blow up the hostages if Estelle did not 188 00:08:55,125 --> 00:08:56,105 meet his demands. 189 00:08:56,949 --> 00:08:57,449 Dominguez 190 00:08:57,750 --> 00:08:59,929 and Cuevas tormented the hostages 191 00:09:00,389 --> 00:09:02,730 by brandishing guns at their heads. 192 00:09:05,955 --> 00:09:08,914 Carrasco attempted to manipulate the hostages and their 193 00:09:08,914 --> 00:09:09,414 families, 194 00:09:09,955 --> 00:09:13,799 coercing some into crying during phone calls, including 195 00:09:13,860 --> 00:09:16,819 one with governor Doth Briscoe on the second 196 00:09:16,819 --> 00:09:17,879 day of the standoff. 197 00:09:19,065 --> 00:09:22,924 Repeatedly threatened with death, some hostages sharply criticized 198 00:09:23,065 --> 00:09:24,684 the Texas Department of Corrections 199 00:09:25,144 --> 00:09:28,360 for not yielding to Carrasco's demands, believing it 200 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,779 was the only way to secure their release. 201 00:09:31,879 --> 00:09:34,519 In one moment, Carrasco would threaten to kill 202 00:09:34,519 --> 00:09:36,884 the hostages if his demands were not met 203 00:09:36,965 --> 00:09:37,865 within 10 minutes. 204 00:09:38,725 --> 00:09:40,565 In the next, he would calm down and 205 00:09:40,565 --> 00:09:43,384 request Kentucky Fried Chicken to eat. 206 00:09:44,330 --> 00:09:47,610 During the takeover, Carrasco released 4 hostages at 207 00:09:47,610 --> 00:09:48,589 different intervals, 208 00:09:49,129 --> 00:09:52,705 including the prison's director of education, suffered a 209 00:09:52,705 --> 00:09:54,565 heart attack on the 1st day, 210 00:09:55,024 --> 00:09:57,764 and a librarian who faked a heart attack. 211 00:09:58,470 --> 00:10:01,370 An inmate hostage, desperate to avoid implication, 212 00:10:02,070 --> 00:10:05,370 escaped by driving through the plate glass door 213 00:10:05,429 --> 00:10:06,649 on the 6th day. 214 00:10:07,235 --> 00:10:09,794 Carrasco freed a final hostage on the 10th 215 00:10:09,794 --> 00:10:10,774 day of the standoff 216 00:10:11,154 --> 00:10:13,575 to present his escape plan and demands 217 00:10:13,955 --> 00:10:15,575 to prison director Estelle. 218 00:10:23,965 --> 00:10:27,264 Meanwhile, Warden Howe husbands had to maintain order 219 00:10:27,565 --> 00:10:28,625 among 1700 220 00:10:29,164 --> 00:10:29,664 inmates. 221 00:10:30,445 --> 00:10:33,184 The dining hall was located below the library, 222 00:10:33,709 --> 00:10:36,190 and the slightest sounds, such as pots and 223 00:10:36,190 --> 00:10:39,649 pans, would set off the paranoid hostage taker. 224 00:10:40,350 --> 00:10:42,955 Husbands had to lock down the unit and 225 00:10:42,955 --> 00:10:45,695 serve sandwiches and paper bags to the cells. 226 00:10:47,514 --> 00:10:50,554 It became clear to Estelle and FBI agent 227 00:10:50,554 --> 00:10:51,375 Bob Wyatt 228 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,079 that Carrasco did not have a well thought 229 00:10:54,079 --> 00:10:55,299 out escape plan. 230 00:10:56,079 --> 00:10:58,500 At the start of the siege, officers surrounded 231 00:10:58,559 --> 00:10:59,860 the prison and Huntsville 232 00:11:00,235 --> 00:11:03,355 with a security blanket to thwart any attempt 233 00:11:03,355 --> 00:11:05,774 by Carrasco's gang to make his getaway. 234 00:11:06,634 --> 00:11:08,875 A rumor circulated that the gang planned to 235 00:11:08,875 --> 00:11:09,375 kidnap 236 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:10,179 officers' 237 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:11,220 families. 238 00:11:11,759 --> 00:11:15,440 Acurasco demanded an expensive men's apparel to replace 239 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:17,379 their white inmate uniforms. 240 00:11:18,225 --> 00:11:21,204 Bulletproof vest, helmets, walkie talkies and weapons. 241 00:11:22,065 --> 00:11:23,605 Estelle provided $1300 242 00:11:24,225 --> 00:11:26,084 worth of suits and dress shoes. 243 00:11:26,990 --> 00:11:29,550 Fearing that prison snipers would shoot them in 244 00:11:29,550 --> 00:11:30,129 the head, 245 00:11:30,509 --> 00:11:34,290 Carrasco ordered the creation of 3 steel helmets 246 00:11:34,350 --> 00:11:35,410 to protect them. 247 00:11:35,884 --> 00:11:38,365 Oh, the headgear resembled the armor the knights 248 00:11:38,365 --> 00:11:41,105 of King Arthur's round table might wear. 249 00:11:41,804 --> 00:11:43,804 These helmets are now on display at the 250 00:11:43,804 --> 00:11:45,769 Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville. 251 00:11:46,470 --> 00:11:49,690 The hostage takers among themselves talked about 252 00:11:50,070 --> 00:11:53,164 escaping to Cuba, where they thought communist dictator 253 00:11:53,164 --> 00:11:55,424 Fidel Castro would give them sanctuary. 254 00:11:56,684 --> 00:11:59,184 On the 8th day of the siege, Carrasco 255 00:11:59,245 --> 00:12:01,024 demanded an armored truck. 256 00:12:01,690 --> 00:12:04,570 While officials did provide the truck, they gave 257 00:12:04,570 --> 00:12:06,889 no assurances that he would be allowed to 258 00:12:06,889 --> 00:12:08,429 drive away with the hostages. 259 00:12:09,725 --> 00:12:11,824 Meanwhile, the inmates built a makeshift 260 00:12:12,125 --> 00:12:13,264 Trojan horse 261 00:12:13,644 --> 00:12:16,144 to cover their escape to the waiting armored 262 00:12:16,204 --> 00:12:16,704 truck. 263 00:12:17,500 --> 00:12:19,820 They taped together a pair of 6 by 264 00:12:19,820 --> 00:12:20,879 6 foot chalkboards, 265 00:12:21,820 --> 00:12:23,360 fortified with £700 266 00:12:23,820 --> 00:12:25,440 of library law books 267 00:12:26,004 --> 00:12:28,345 wrapped around the outside as a shield. 268 00:12:33,330 --> 00:12:34,070 At 9:27 269 00:12:34,769 --> 00:12:37,330 PM, on the 11th and final day of 270 00:12:37,330 --> 00:12:37,990 the standoff, 271 00:12:38,690 --> 00:12:42,050 Carrasco and his 2 henchmen secured themselves inside 272 00:12:42,050 --> 00:12:44,404 the 3 foot space between the chalkboards. 273 00:12:46,384 --> 00:12:50,085 They handcuffed themselves to 3 hostages who volunteered 274 00:12:50,544 --> 00:12:52,165 to get inside the contraption. 275 00:12:53,169 --> 00:12:54,710 Teacher Von Bessetta, 276 00:12:55,250 --> 00:12:56,710 librarian Judy Stanley, 277 00:12:57,169 --> 00:12:59,909 and prison school principal Novella Pollard. 278 00:13:00,475 --> 00:13:04,014 Prison chaplain father Joseph O'Brien also got inside. 279 00:13:04,955 --> 00:13:08,634 The conspirators handcuffed the remaining 8 hostages consisting 280 00:13:08,634 --> 00:13:10,639 of civilian employees and inmates, 281 00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:13,899 to a rope wrapped around the outside of 282 00:13:13,899 --> 00:13:15,120 the Trojan horse. 283 00:13:16,220 --> 00:13:19,019 They were supposed to maneuver the rickety shield 284 00:13:19,019 --> 00:13:20,475 down a winding ramp. 285 00:13:21,334 --> 00:13:24,294 Prison director Estelle had no intention of letting 286 00:13:24,294 --> 00:13:25,754 Carrasco and his Confederates 287 00:13:26,375 --> 00:13:27,840 reach the armored truck. 288 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,040 An assault team hid, waiting with a high 289 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:32,420 pressure fire hose. 290 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,860 When the Trojan horse jammed against the handrail 291 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:36,740 of the last 292 00:13:37,125 --> 00:13:39,464 right angle turn of the 4 turn ramp, 293 00:13:39,924 --> 00:13:42,825 officers yelled for the hostages to duck. 294 00:13:43,365 --> 00:13:46,164 They unleashed torrents of water under the Trojan 295 00:13:46,164 --> 00:13:46,664 horse. 296 00:13:47,230 --> 00:13:50,029 However, the plan to knock over the Trojan 297 00:13:50,029 --> 00:13:51,089 horse went awry 298 00:13:51,470 --> 00:13:53,089 when the hose came loose, 299 00:13:53,470 --> 00:13:56,370 causing a significant drop in the water pressure. 300 00:13:57,524 --> 00:13:59,605 As soon as the first water blast hit 301 00:13:59,605 --> 00:14:00,264 the shield, 302 00:14:00,804 --> 00:14:03,705 Carrasco pumped a deadly hollow point round 303 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,220 into Von Bessida's heart. 304 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,220 Dominguez fired 3 deadly rounds into Judy Stanley's 305 00:14:10,279 --> 00:14:10,779 back. 306 00:14:11,514 --> 00:14:15,035 Another bullet splintered Father O'Brien's left arm and 307 00:14:15,035 --> 00:14:16,975 lodged fragments near his heart. 308 00:14:17,754 --> 00:14:21,409 It made Cuevas fake passing out and fell, 309 00:14:21,629 --> 00:14:25,009 taking Pollard down as bullets ripped above them. 310 00:14:26,990 --> 00:14:27,490 Gunfire 311 00:14:28,254 --> 00:14:30,815 from inside the Trojan horse through gun ports 312 00:14:30,815 --> 00:14:33,375 Carrasco and his accomplices had cut into the 313 00:14:33,375 --> 00:14:33,875 chalkboards. 314 00:14:34,815 --> 00:14:37,075 A 22 minute gun battle ensued. 315 00:14:37,809 --> 00:14:40,450 FBI agent Bob Wyatt took 2 rounds in 316 00:14:40,450 --> 00:14:43,110 the chest of his bullet resistant vest. 317 00:14:43,649 --> 00:14:46,834 Texas Ranger captains James Pete Rogers, and G. 318 00:14:46,834 --> 00:14:49,495 W. Burkes also took hits in their vest. 319 00:14:50,034 --> 00:14:52,914 The 3 officers quickly recovered and rejoined the 320 00:14:52,914 --> 00:14:53,414 fight. 321 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,000 Officers used a ladder as a battering ram 322 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:58,299 to topple the shield. 323 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,139 Amidst the gunfire, TDC Lieutenant Willard Stewart 324 00:15:02,764 --> 00:15:06,044 bravely cut the hostages loose from outside the 325 00:15:06,044 --> 00:15:08,065 Trojan horse, saving their lives. 326 00:15:09,659 --> 00:15:13,120 The toppled Trojan horse exposed Carrasco's body. 327 00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:15,440 He had shot himself in the head. 328 00:15:15,899 --> 00:15:18,940 A Department of Public Safety intelligence officer lunged 329 00:15:18,940 --> 00:15:22,445 into the fray and delivered 3 fatal shots 330 00:15:22,445 --> 00:15:23,264 into Dominguez. 331 00:15:24,285 --> 00:15:26,705 Inmate Cuevas, pretending to be unconscious, 332 00:15:27,529 --> 00:15:29,370 slid down the ramp in a stream of 333 00:15:29,370 --> 00:15:30,190 bloody water 334 00:15:30,570 --> 00:15:31,950 and was taken into custody. 335 00:15:32,570 --> 00:15:35,309 His hostage, Novela Pollard, escaped unharmed. 336 00:15:36,174 --> 00:15:39,875 Prison chaplain father Joseph O'Brien survived the gunshot 337 00:15:39,934 --> 00:15:40,434 wounds. 338 00:15:41,375 --> 00:15:43,715 The last shots were fired at 9:50 339 00:15:44,095 --> 00:15:44,595 PM, 340 00:15:45,129 --> 00:15:47,470 ending the 11 day siege on the moonlit 341 00:15:47,610 --> 00:15:49,149 night of August 3rd, 342 00:15:49,690 --> 00:15:50,190 1974. 343 00:15:52,144 --> 00:15:56,065 17 years later, Ignacio Cuevas was executed by 344 00:15:56,065 --> 00:15:57,045 lethal injection 345 00:15:57,825 --> 00:16:00,149 inside the death chamber of the Walls unit 346 00:16:00,309 --> 00:16:02,330 where he had taken part in the murders 347 00:16:02,870 --> 00:16:05,370 of Von Bessida and Judy Stanley. 348 00:16:06,230 --> 00:16:08,550 The San Antonio police officers who were in 349 00:16:08,550 --> 00:16:11,335 the shootout that had sent Carrasco to the 350 00:16:11,335 --> 00:16:12,875 Walls unit later said, 351 00:16:13,415 --> 00:16:15,335 We should have killed him when we had 352 00:16:15,335 --> 00:16:16,075 the chance. 353 00:16:17,799 --> 00:16:21,240 The Texas Prison Museum commemorated the historic prison 354 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,659 siege on its 50th anniversary 355 00:16:24,039 --> 00:16:26,679 during an event in Huntsville called 11 Days 356 00:16:26,679 --> 00:16:27,339 in Hell, 357 00:16:28,024 --> 00:16:29,485 held on July 27, 358 00:16:30,504 --> 00:16:31,004 2024. 359 00:16:32,345 --> 00:16:34,845 I had the honor of moderating an emotional 360 00:16:34,904 --> 00:16:35,404 tribute 361 00:16:35,830 --> 00:16:38,410 that united families of the slain hostages 362 00:16:38,950 --> 00:16:41,210 and the officers who risked their lives 363 00:16:41,750 --> 00:16:44,404 to end the longest prison siege in the 364 00:16:44,404 --> 00:16:45,154 United States 365 00:16:45,615 --> 00:16:46,115 history.