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Suicide of Rodney Hulin


Rodney Hulin, Jr. (March 2, 1978 – May 9, 1996) hanged himself in the Clemens Unit in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas (Greater Houston) on January 26, 1996 after being raped in prison; Hulin died months after he fatally injured himself. Hulin became a symbol of a movement that advocated not placing juvenile offenders in adult institutions.

Hulin entered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system after setting trash on fire. Hulin produced Molotov cocktails and threw them over a fence, which, according to an incident report, "caused a small fire in a pile of empty cans against the outside wall of the residence." At the time of his arrest, Hulin was one month shy of his 17th birthday thus was considered a juvenile under Texas law. A 17-year-old under Texas law is considered to be an adult in the state penal system. The juvenile court debated whether to try Hulin as an adult; the political climate of the mid-1990s in Texas supported the trying of juvenile offenders as adults. After the court system decided to try Hulin as an adult, Hulin learned that he had two choices if he took a plea agreement for two charges of second-degree arson. He could enroll in boot camp and probation, and would receive two 15 year sentences if he failed. He could also take eight years in prison with the possibility of parole in two years. Hulin chose the latter option.

Hulin spent six months in the Randall County Jail in Amarillo, Texas and three months in the Middleton Unit in Abilene, Texas. He did not report any major problems while incarcerated in the two institutions. Hulin was scheduled to be transferred from the unit since Middleton was a unit for testing prisoners so they could be classified to go to permanent prison facilities.

In November 1995 he was transferred to the Clemens Unit in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas. Hulin reported being raped by fellow inmates around his age after his transfer to a division for younger offenders in the Clemens Unit. On November 17, 1995, a prison doctor examined Hulin for signs of rape; Hulin told the doctor that he had been forced to perform oral sex and then was forced to receive anal penetration. The medical documents stated that Hulin had two "vertical tears" in his rectum. The physician recommended an HIV test, which produced a negative result. Hulin's father stated that Hulin weighed 125 pounds (57 kg) and was 5 feet 2 inches (1,570 mm) tall.


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