Biography
Daniel Mendoza was a Texas prisoner accused of participating in the May 20, 1988 fire at the Ellis II prison shoe factory. An Associated Press report published September 16 individually names him among three inmates indicted for arson the previous day. Special prison prosecutor David Weeks said the fire was set because inmates objected to higher production quotas. The accusation and reported work-protest motive are attributed to the prosecution; the article does not establish a conviction or identify his original offense or prison admission and release dates.
Daniel Mendoza was a Texas prisoner accused of participating in the May 20, 1988 fire at the Ellis II prison shoe factory. An Associated Press report published September 16 individually names him among three inmates indicted for arson the previous day. Special prison prosecutor David Weeks said the fire was set because inmates objected to higher production quotas. The accusation and reported work-protest motive are attributed to the prosecution; the article does not establish a conviction or identify his original offense or prison admission and release dates.
The contemporary report identifies the three defendants as inmates both in describing the May factory incident and the September indictment. It gives no original admission, release, trial outcome or completed total; the work-quota motive is the prosecutor’s account.
Source-reported institution: Ellis II Unit.
