The senator said he was told the hit would take place in a Mexican restaurant that he frequents and that a Mexican Mafia member wanted to negotiate for two years off his sentence.
Texas State Sen. John Whitmire
State Sen. John Whitmire, who leads the committee in charge of state prisons and whose crusade to block cellphone calls from prisons is coming to fruition, said an informant told authorities that a prison gang was trying to kill him.
The Houston Democrat learned of the “hit” last Wednesday morning and that it came from the Polunsky Unit – the location of the state’s “supermax” cells and Texas death row. Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials had been attempting to reach him since late Tuesday.
“(The Mexican Mafia) were fairly unhappy with the conditions on death row,” the senator said. “The Mexican Mafia – they play for keeps. It is a very dangerous prison gang.”
He believes the threat, if credible, is related to his efforts to jam cellphone calls from behind bars.
“I’m taking it very serious because it’s the only smart thing to do,” he said. Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials informed him that they’ve taken certain measures.
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