17 November 2017 :

A Bowie County jury sentenced Billy Joel Tracy, 39, White, to death in the July 15, 2015, fatal beating of Barry Telford Unit Correctional Officer Timothy Davison. 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart pronounced the punishment of death after advising Tracy of his rights to appeal. Tracy attacked Timothy Davison as he opened the door to cell 66 and briefly turned his gaze. After knocking Davison to the floor, Tracy grabbed the officer's metal tray slot bar and wielded it like a hammer, striking Davison repeatedly in the head and face. During the trial, Tracy's jury heard testimony concerning multiple acts of violence by Tracy and the offenses which earned him 2 life sentences and a 20-year term in 1998.