Michael Jackson assaulted 2 female officers at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston.
Inmate Assaults Officers, Gets 99 Years, LIVINGSTON, December 6, 2023 - A Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmate, Michael Jackson, was sentenced to 99 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine for the assault of a correctional officer at the Polunsky TDCJ Unit. Judge John Wells of the 411th District Court handed down the sentence when Jackson opted for Judge Wells to sentence him after a jury of 12 Polk County residents found Jackson guilty of the offense of Aggravated Assault of a Public Servant. Judge Wells presided over the three-day trial earlier this year before the punishment trial this month. The State of Texas was represented by Rachel Jordan and Greg Whitley. Jurors heard that on August 25, 2016, Cheryl Whitesel went to work at the Polunsky Unit and was training new correctional officers. Michael Jackson and another offender, Quincy Ford, began assaulting Whitesel after she had planned to write them disciplinary cases for trafficking and trading drugs, testimony revealed. Video evidence played during the trial showed Michael Jackson striking Whitesel in the face and then stomping on her once she was unconscious on the ground. Testimony revealed Whitesel is still suffering from her injuries to this day. Testimony was also given that another correctional officer, Tammy Simmons, was assaulted by Jackson and she heard him say “if I’m going to get locked up, I’m going to get locked up for a reason” just prior to the assault. Jackson is serving a Life Sentence for Murder out of Fort Bend County but is eligible for parole in 2038. The new sentence for Aggravated Assault of a Public Servant will run consecutively to his Murder conviction. The $10,000 fine will result in his commissary fund to purchase items while incarcerated to be diminished immediately to pay the fine.
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