Edward Carter
Agency patch
Correctional Officer

Edward Carter

Accident Veteran
End of Watch May 31, 1976
Age 61
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
The Vigil Panel 117 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Correctional Officer Edward Carter was the picket officer (guard tower) at Retrieve Unit # 2 (Wayne Scott Unit today) near Angleton in Brazoria County.

Officer Carter lowered the outside picket door key in order to allow the relief officer access to the inside ladder entry to the picket. The relief officer opened the outside door and climbed the inside ladder and entered through the trap door in the floor of the picket. The relief officer did not close the trap door. Carter was on the cat-walk outside the picket. He pulled up the rope with the picket door key on it and walked back inside the picket. He did not see the open trap door and fell approximately 20 feet to a concrete landing below. He sustained serious injuries and was unconscious. He was taken to a hospital in Angleton and then to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston. He remained in a state of unconsciousness and died from his injuries on May 31, 1976.

Officer Carter is buried in the Thomaston Cemetery in Selma, Alabama.

Officer Carter served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for nine years. He was retired from the US Army.

Officer Carter served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for nine years. He was retired from the US Army.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, mother, sister, and brother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-EA439031
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Correctional Officer Carter gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

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

Service Record

End of Watch May 31, 1976
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
Age 61
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Edward Carter served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Correctional Officer Edward Carter is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

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
653
of 2,421 officers
27% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

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

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Edward Carter Compares

Age at End of Watch
61
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
9
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Edward Carter is highlighted in May.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897