From The Mother Of A Texas Inmate


I received another letter from my son yesterday. A guard, that does not want to be identified and said he would deny it if asked by anyone, came to Jimmy's cell on the night of 4-8-02. He told Jimmy, that he (Jimmy), has a "Big Problem".

In the way of background......a number of years ago, on another unit, Jimmy was in a gang. It was one of those situations where they really give you no choice. When you are approached by a gang, and "asked" to join, if you do not they then have it in for you. There was so much racial conflict there, that if you were not "protected" as a member of a gang, then you were fair game to all the gangs. You were not allowed to remain nuetral. At the unit, he has been able to stay out of the way of the gang members so far, but apparently, not anymore.

This guard told Jimmy that there are 2 other officers spreading the word that Jimmy was a gang member and there is a "hit" out on him. On 4-16-02, this same officer came by Jimmy's cell and told him that he had better watch out for himself. That the officers he is having problems with are going to set him up to be "hit".

Jimmy has filed a Statement of Grievance regarding this and requested for an immediate transfer to another unit. First of all, there is no way of knowing how fast they will act upon the request, if they do at all. And, secondly, this will also follow him anywhere he goes. He is very frightened and afraid for his safety. Anything he says, is just being met with the attitude that he is lying and trying to cause trouble for honest, hard-working guards.

We truly need help and FAST......this is a very dangerous situation and no one will listen and take it serious. Any help, or suggestions you have right now are greatly appreciated. I already lost one of my sons a few years ago, in an auto accident, and cannot deal with the thought of losing Jimmy too.

His info is:
James R. Brewer, Jr #811459M
Hughes UnitM
Rt 2 Box 4400
Gatesville, TX 76597
Thank you and God Bless You For Caring



In the way of an update, I receive a letter from my son yesterday with the paperwork on his cases. I have the originals of the complaints he filed against the guard for destruction of his personal property, the complaint filed by his cellmate against the guard who tried to bribe him into planting contraband in my son's belongings and the determination of the hearing that was held regarding the charges filed against my son for illegal possesion of a weapon. Each of the complaints they filed has the appellate decision regarding the complaints on the back.

After the cellmate had refused the bribe and reported it, he was threatened with being "hurt real bad". They pulled them from their cell for a "routine search" and claimed they had found a weapon, a club. Neither my son, nor his cellmate, had ever seen this "weapon" before and had absolutely no knowledge regarding it. They had told him, that since this family was making such a fuss and they could not do anything physical to him, they would see that he was "locked up" (I suppose they meant in solitary confinment). Well, they made good on their word, and found a "weapon" in their cell. They filed charges against him for "possesion of a weapon intended to be used to injure another person, namely a homemade club with a rolled up magazine with an unknown mechanical object attached to the end". They said they were going to file "real world" charges against him, take him to trial and add more years to his sentence.

On the complaint filed by my son's cellmate, they state that my son had said he had no knowledge of his cellmate being pulled from the cell and offered the bribe. And that the other officers working at that time had no knowledge of the incident. Therefore, the complaint was dismissed. My son was never asked about it and was not given an opportunity to respond. They strictly lied in saying he had said he had no knowledge of the incident.

On the complaint filed by my son regarding the destruction of his property, they state that there is no evidence to verify the claim, and therefore it was dismissed. I might mention, that Jimmy had saved the pieces of the pictures and paperwork they had torn up as evidence, but before the hearing, they had removed Jimmy and his cellmate from their cell for a "routine search". When they were allowed to return to the ramsacked cell, all the "evidence" was gone. When he asked about it, the guards just laughed at him.

As for the charge against my son for possession of a "weapon", they gave him 30 days suspension of use of the commissary (so he is unable to buy writing material, stamps, or personal hygiene products), 180 days of cell restriction, and loss of 180 days of good time. They refused to even consider the possibility that the "weapon" had been planted. They would not file "real world" charges at this time. The warden said something to the effect, that this was all a result of Jimmy's family causing so many problems. Major Thomas said that it was all about Jimmy lying on the officers and that he had made it all up. Now, Jimmy is constantly being harrassed by these same guards and they have refused to let him have a showers for several days at a time. They tell him that they will soon see to it that he is locked up again.

Jimmy is really frightened and his is not frightened easily. He writes me that he has "a real bad feeling about all this". I still have not received a response from the TDCJ. I really do not know where to turn next. No one seems to care or they just say that it not the kind of thing they handle.

Please pray that The Lord will guide me to the right person, people or agency. I spend every minute that I am not at work or asleep and that isn't much) looking for answers and researching for help. We are considering filing a claim in small claims court regarding the destruction of his property, but I am not even sure they will allow us to do that.

Laura Ferris


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