Roll of Honor
Tommy Mellie Starnes
Incident
Corrections Officer Tommy Starnes served at the the Ferguson State Prison Farm near Midway in Madison County. He was on-duty at the state ferry which crossed the Trinity River between the prisons at Eastham and Ferguson. He went into the shack and placed his shotgun loaded with buckshot on the table. The shotgun fell off of the table and discharged. Fifteen buckshot struck Starnes, passing through his body. He died before aid could arrive from camp headquarters.
Starnes was survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Starnes of Midway; three brothers, Herman, Clyde and Bud; and three sisters, all of Midway. He was buried in the Harmony Cemetery in Huntsville, Walker County.
Survivors
Starnes was survived by his parents, Mr.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-97CDF139- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Corrections Officer Starnes 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, Corrections Officer Starnes.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Corrections Officer Tommy Mellie Starnes 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.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Tommy Mellie Starnes's cause is highlighted.
How Tommy Mellie Starnes Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Tommy Mellie Starnes is highlighted in Jun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
123 officers from Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
