Deb Edward Long
Agency patch
Guard

Deb Edward Long

Accident
End of Watch February 2, 1928
Age 26
The Vigil Panel 54 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Around 1:00 a.m. sixteen convicts at the Eastham State Prison in Lovelady, Houston County, Texas, escaped by cutting through a wall of the wooden building in which they were locked up for the night, using a pocket knife. During the escape Guard Deb Long was accidentally shot and killed by Guard Tom Bozeman who mistook the guard for one of the convicts in the woods where they had surrounded the escapees. Long was wearing long white trousers, similar to those issued to prisoners. By 4:00 p.m. all sixteen convicts had been captured and returned to the prison.

Deb Long was 26 years old. He was buried in the Salem Cemetery in Weldon, Houston County, Texas.

Rest in peace Guard Long. Just tragic! Always a hero!

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis November 30th, 2021

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-56C09C12
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Guard Long served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Guard Long.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Corrections
Location Huntsville, TX
Platform Identity tdcjcidcorr.walker.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 2, 1928
Age 26
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Guard Deb Edward Long is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In TX, 657 of 2,422 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.1% of this state's fallen. That is 27.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, 32 of 124 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25.8% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division
32
of 124 officers
25.8% Accident
TX — Statewide
657
of 2,422 officers
27.1% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Deb Edward Long's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Deb Edward Long Compares

Age at Death
26
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Deb Edward Long is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897