Local Death Row Inmate Found With Cell Phone
Local Death Row Inmate Found With Cell Phone Save Email Print
Posted: 6:23 PM Nov 20, 2008
 Last Updated: 6:23 PM Nov 20, 2008
 Reporter: Sylvia Villarreal
Email Address: villarreal@kbtx.com
3 comments
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A man who is on death row for killing three Madisonville children on September 6, 2000 is one of two inmates who was caught with contraband cell phones on Tuesday.

Raphael Deon Sanders was convicted of killing two of his step-children who were 7-years-old and 9-years-old at the time of the crime, along with his 1-year-old daughter.

All three girls died inside their burning home.

The first phone was found after a guard spotted it in the trash.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons says officials believe an inmate tried to discard it for fear of being caught.

The second phone was found as Holiday attempted to flush it down a toilet.

Holiday and the unidentified owner of the other cell phone face disciplinary action.

Last month prison officials imposed a statewide lockdown after condemned inmate, Richard Tabler, made threatening calls to state Sen. John Whitmire using a cell phone that had been smuggled to Tabler.
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Posted by: g Location: navasota on Nov 20, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Even if they did strip & body cavity searching, It is impossible to stop 100% of contraband being smuggled into prisons. At least the good news is that good security officers are finding the cell phones and contraband, etc. the good people are doing their jobs, while a few crooks make the whole system look bad. I'm sorry Sen. Whitmire got his life threatened, but I wonder how many days of his life has he spent inside the bars & had his life threatened personally to his face day in & day out. It happens daily to good staff, on a paltry pay, and I don't see anybody up in arms about that!
Posted by: Ex Convict Location: 3 Row on Nov 20, 2008 at 07:49 PM
Michelle, you are mistaken. No inmate will "discard" a phone in the trash. As anyone who has ever spent any amount of time in a correctional facility can tell you, trash cans, dayrooms and rec yards are the three places you are most likely to find contraband. This is because it is nearly impossible to pin items on an individual when they are found in common areas. A more realistic scenario is the death row guy stored his phone in the trash can had his SSI buddy dig his phone out of the trash as needed. The SSI was probably paid in stamps, soups or cell phone minutes for his services. Michelle, you need to go back to work for the Huntsville Item. Your lack of experience in corrections shows almost every time you issue a statement. I roll my eyes every time I hear you tell the media that ALL inmates are required to work. This is not true. Prisons are jam packed with "full time students" that attend blow off Windham, Lee and Rio classes to get out of work. Also, no AD-SEG inmates work.
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