John Murphy Bennett
Agency patch
Corrections Officer

John Murphy Bennett

Veteran → Accident
End of Watch July 17, 2003
Age 40
Tour of Duty 12 yrs
The Vigil Panel 151 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer John Bennett was killed in an automobile crash as he and another officer transported a prisoner to death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas.

The prison van was traveling on U.S. Highway 190 when it was struck head-on by a pickup truck where the driver had lost control. Officer Bennett was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries one hour later. The other officer and the prisoner both suffered minor injuries. The driver of the pickup truck was also killed in the accident.

Officer Bennett was a United States Air Force veteran and had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for 12 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, three sons, mother, brother, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-337AE508
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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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Air Force. One record, 2 gates. John is one person.

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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.
Corrections Officer Bennett gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 12 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

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

Service Record

End of Watch July 17, 2003
Tour of Duty 12 yrs
Age 40
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

John Murphy Bennett served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Corrections Officer John Murphy Bennett is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In TX, 657 of 2,421 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 2,421 officers
27.1% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,759 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Murphy Bennett's cause is highlighted.

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

How John Murphy Bennett Compares

Age at Death
40
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
12
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Murphy Bennett is highlighted in Jul.

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

Military Service

John Murphy Bennett served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.

Visit John Murphy Bennett’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.