For some, burial at the inmate cemetery, beneath a numbered headstone, is the ultimate symbol of a wasted life. But this year, for the first time in about half a century, the headstones are bearing inmates' names. The practice of placing names on headstones had been abandoned because of the notoriety of some of the inmates, a prison spokesman said. For decades, only the deceased's prison number was etched onto the headstone. But Mr. Willett, the warden, said he saw no harm in changing the policy, so the practice of using names was resumed in January.
Inmates make the headstones out of concrete.
The deceased's name, prison number and date of death are drawn into the wet concrete. A few markers stand out from the others in the neat rows. The chief, who was imprisoned in Huntsville for slaying settlers, disliked confinement so much that he threw himself from the second floor of the prison infirmary. His bones were moved to Oklahoma in 1963. Few headstones bear epitaphs.