Inmate threatens Texas lawmaker

AUSTIN (AP) — The same death row inmate caught making a call from a smuggled cell phone in October has sent a letter threatening the life of a Texas lawmaker, officials said.

Texas prison officials also said a different death row inmate's contraband cell phone was discovered Wednesday afternoon, hours after a prison lockdown was lifted.

Prison investigators said Thursday that they received a letter this week from Richard Lee Tabler, 29, with threats against state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, the chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, which oversees prison operations.