By . Meghan Keneally and Nina Golgowski . Last updated at 11:47 PM on 27th January 2012 . The family of a death row inmate who sent a letter to a . local North Carolina newspaper boasting about his 'life of leisure' behind bars says the convicted murderer is mentally ill and fabricating his living conditions and they offered another letter as proof. Danny Hembree, Jr.'s sister released a letter sent to her from her brother earlier this month that contradicts the recently published two-page boast of leisurely conditions behind bars, disturbing the family of his 17-year-old murder victim. 'I try to put on a (nonchalant) attitude for you guys but it is . overwhelming and depressing to look at these walls and electric doors . and bright lights 24-7 and digest the fact that I'm never going to leave . here until they murder me or I just die either way I'm never leaving . here alive,' he wrote in the letter dated January 8 and published by the Charlotte Observer. Differing views: Family of death row inmate Danny Robbie Hembree Jr. produced a second letter by the convicted murderer that contrasts the felon's previously flaunted life behind bars . 'I'm bored to death,' he wrote her. 'No pun intended.' He signed it, 'Love, Danny Boy.' 'I'm so very sorry for any hurt or . anger that was caused by my brother Danny Hembree's letter to The Gaston . Gazette. He is a very depressed man and in his hopelessness, he lashed . out,' his sister Kathy . Hembree Ledbetter said in a statement released along with the letter to the Observer. When Hembree's boastful letter was reported by the Gazette this week, District Attorney Locke Bell told ABC that the father of murdered Heather Catterton called him in tears saying, 'He murdered our . daughter, got the death penalty and now he's just sitting in jail . laughing at us!' Hoping to prove otherwise, his sister published the second letter '...in order to try . to reveal the truth about his mental and emotional state which was . brought out at his trial.' Life behind bars: Hembree is waiting for his execution in Central Prison of Raleigh, North Carolina but in the meantime described his stay as a luxury, upsetting his victim's family . 'No person in their right mind thinks that living in death row is a life of leisure,' his son Danny Hembree III told . ABCNews.com in response to the earlier week's letter. 'There's no good explanation for why he wrote that . except he's mentally ill.' In agreement, his sister also attested to Hembree having a 'severe mental illness for over 35 years of his 50 years of life. He is not happy, he is not comfortable and he is not well.' These latest revelations are a sharp contrast from the letter where he describes life as '...a . gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the a/c, reading, taking naps . at will, eating three well-balanced meals a day.' Hembree (left) if accused of the murder of Heather Catterton (right) who was 17 at the time of her death . His son agreed himself that letters sent to their family directly, as their only means of communication between them, express his pain and discomfort behind bars. 'He talks about the four walls closing in, that the lights are always on and . he can't sleep. Death row is a horrible place for anybody to be,' his son said. 'He's very severely depressed. He has told us that he's depressed. He . feels like it's over for him.' Taunting his victim's family this week, Hembree wrote: 'Is the public aware that the chances of my lawful murder taking place in the next 20 years if ever are very slim?' Hembree, 50, was found guilty of killing the 17-year-old girl in 2009, a crime both his sister and son do not believe he committed. Sentenced: Hembree was sentenced to death in November for murdering the 17-year-old girl in 2009, as he's seen here blowing his mother a kiss before leaving for death row . During a police interrogation he admitted to killing two other women, though he now says that he was lying to distract authorities and cover up other crimes. 'In every one of those confessions on all of those tapes, he was coming off a . three-day crack binge. He hadn't slept, he was drunk and highly intoxicated. He . could barely hold his head up,' Hembree III said. 'He's not a killer,' his sister told the Observer. 'He did not kill those girls.' 'I am a man who is ready to except [sic] his unjust punishment and face God Almighty with a clear conscience unlike you cowards and your cowardly system. 'Kill me if you can, suckers. Ha! Ha! Ha!' he wrote this week to the Gazette. Hembree was sentenced to death on November 18 for the murder of Ms Catterton and has been waiting in Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina. His other alleged victims: Randi Saldana (left) had a 2-year-old child at the time of her death, and Deborah Ratchford . (right) was killed in 1992 . In spite of Hembree's declarations of . grandeur, the conditions of Central Prison have been under a microscope . in recent months since the prison warden resigned after the despicable . treatment of prisoners with mental illnesses. Alvin . Keller stepped down in November- coincidentally the day after Hembree . was sentenced- following the results of an investigation that showed . mentally ill inmates being left unattended for weeks at a time and found . in cells covered with human feces. The . conditions in Hembree's cell seem much more luxurious, however, and he . boasted about his free government health care in the letter. I'm housed in a building that connects to the new 55 million dollar hospital with round the clock free medical care 24/7.' The gloating letter is not the only one that Hembree sent from prison which is due to be controversial. He . also mailed an inflammatory letter to the NAACP attempting to goad them . into fighting for one of his alleged victims, saying that the state’s . justice system was playing racial favorites. In . addition to Ms Catterton, Hembree is thought to have killed to other . women- Randi Dean Saldana, 30, whose burnt remains were found in South . Carolina in 2009 and Deborah Ratchford, 30, whose body found in 1992. Ms . Saldana and Ms Catterton, who were friends and both had a history of . drug arrests at the time of their death, were white and Ms Ratchford was . black. Hembree wrote to the African-American . civil rights group arguing that Mr Bell is trying the cases of the two . white women first for racially-motivated reasons. ‘I . implore your great organization to pressure Mr. Bell until he gives . Debora Ratchford her day in court in the interest of justice,’ Hembree’s . letter said. Both of his letters display a flagrant disregard for the victims families and his lack of remorse. 'I . laugh at you self righteous clowns and I spit in the face of your so . called justice system. The state of North Carolina has sentenced me to . death but it's not real,' he wrote in the letter to the Gaston Gazette. Central Prison . Central Prison was the first to be built in North Carolina, and was established in December 1884. It was built by inmates themselves and took 14 years to construct. Though it originally cost $1.25million to build, construction costs have gone up over the past century, and a major renovation in the 1980s cost $28.8million. The prison holds 1000 inmates and provides work for the 700 members of staff. Central Prison serves as the state's main execution chamber and houses all inmates on death row. On a lighter note, it has Bible study classes, team sports and job assignments within in the prison for 260 prisoners. Inmates can even take college correspondence courses through the prestigious University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was most recently ranked number 29 in the country.
Danny Hembree, 50, on death row for murder of a 17-year-old girl .
Also the main suspect in the murders of two other women .
Earlier Hembree sent an open letter boasting of prison life with color television, air conditioning, naps whenever he pleases, and free health care .
By . Meghan Keneally and Nina Golgowski . Last updated at 11:47 PM on 27th January 2012 . The family of a death row inmate who sent a letter to a . local North Carolina newspaper boasting about his 'life of leisure' behind bars says the convicted murderer is mentally ill and fabricating his living conditions and they offered another letter as proof. Danny Hembree, Jr.'s sister released a letter sent to her from her brother earlier this month that contradicts the recently published two-page boast of leisurely conditions behind bars, disturbing the family of his 17-year-old murder victim. 'I try to put on a (nonchalant) attitude for you guys but it is . overwhelming and depressing to look at these walls and electric doors . and bright lights 24-7 and digest the fact that I'm never going to leave . here until they murder me or I just die either way I'm never leaving . here alive,' he wrote in the letter dated January 8 and published by the Charlotte Observer. Differing views: Family of death row inmate Danny Robbie Hembree Jr. produced a second letter by the convicted murderer that contrasts the felon's previously flaunted life behind bars . 'I'm bored to death,' he wrote her. 'No pun intended.' He signed it, 'Love, Danny Boy.' 'I'm so very sorry for any hurt or . anger that was caused by my brother Danny Hembree's letter to The Gaston . Gazette. He is a very depressed man and in his hopelessness, he lashed . out,' his sister Kathy . Hembree Ledbetter said in a statement released along with the letter to the Observer. When Hembree's boastful letter was reported by the Gazette this week, District Attorney Locke Bell told ABC that the father of murdered Heather Catterton called him in tears saying, 'He murdered our . daughter, got the death penalty and now he's just sitting in jail . laughing at us!' Hoping to prove otherwise, his sister published the second letter '...in order to try . to reveal the truth about his mental and emotional state which was . brought out at his trial.' Life behind bars: Hembree is waiting for his execution in Central Prison of Raleigh, North Carolina but in the meantime described his stay as a luxury, upsetting his victim's family . 'No person in their right mind thinks that living in death row is a life of leisure,' his son Danny Hembree III told . ABCNews.com in response to the earlier week's letter. 'There's no good explanation for why he wrote that . except he's mentally ill.' In agreement, his sister also attested to Hembree having a 'severe mental illness for over 35 years of his 50 years of life. He is not happy, he is not comfortable and he is not well.' These latest revelations are a sharp contrast from the letter where he describes life as '...a . gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the a/c, reading, taking naps . at will, eating three well-balanced meals a day.' Hembree (left) if accused of the murder of Heather Catterton (right) who was 17 at the time of her death . His son agreed himself that letters sent to their family directly, as their only means of communication between them, express his pain and discomfort behind bars. 'He talks about the four walls closing in, that the lights are always on and . he can't sleep. Death row is a horrible place for anybody to be,' his son said. 'He's very severely depressed. He has told us that he's depressed. He . feels like it's over for him.' Taunting his victim's family this week, Hembree wrote: 'Is the public aware that the chances of my lawful murder taking place in the next 20 years if ever are very slim?' Hembree, 50, was found guilty of killing the 17-year-old girl in 2009, a crime both his sister and son do not believe he committed. Sentenced: Hembree was sentenced to death in November for murdering the 17-year-old girl in 2009, as he's seen here blowing his mother a kiss before leaving for death row . During a police interrogation he admitted to killing two other women, though he now says that he was lying to distract authorities and cover up other crimes. 'In every one of those confessions on all of those tapes, he was coming off a . three-day crack binge. He hadn't slept, he was drunk and highly intoxicated. He . could barely hold his head up,' Hembree III said. 'He's not a killer,' his sister told the Observer. 'He did not kill those girls.' 'I am a man who is ready to except [sic] his unjust punishment and face God Almighty with a clear conscience unlike you cowards and your cowardly system. 'Kill me if you can, suckers. Ha! Ha! Ha!' he wrote this week to the Gazette. Hembree was sentenced to death on November 18 for the murder of Ms Catterton and has been waiting in Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina. His other alleged victims: Randi Saldana (left) had a 2-year-old child at the time of her death, and Deborah Ratchford . (right) was killed in 1992 . In spite of Hembree's declarations of . grandeur, the conditions of Central Prison have been under a microscope . in recent months since the prison warden resigned after the despicable . treatment of prisoners with mental illnesses. Alvin . Keller stepped down in November- coincidentally the day after Hembree . was sentenced- following the results of an investigation that showed . mentally ill inmates being left unattended for weeks at a time and found . in cells covered with human feces. The . conditions in Hembree's cell seem much more luxurious, however, and he . boasted about his free government health care in the letter. I'm housed in a building that connects to the new 55 million dollar hospital with round the clock free medical care 24/7.' The gloating letter is not the only one that Hembree sent from prison which is due to be controversial. He . also mailed an inflammatory letter to the NAACP attempting to goad them . into fighting for one of his alleged victims, saying that the state’s . justice system was playing racial favorites. In . addition to Ms Catterton, Hembree is thought to have killed to other . women- Randi Dean Saldana, 30, whose burnt remains were found in South . Carolina in 2009 and Deborah Ratchford, 30, whose body found in 1992. Ms . Saldana and Ms Catterton, who were friends and both had a history of . drug arrests at the time of their death, were white and Ms Ratchford was . black. Hembree wrote to the African-American . civil rights group arguing that Mr Bell is trying the cases of the two . white women first for racially-motivated reasons. ‘I . implore your great organization to pressure Mr. Bell until he gives . Debora Ratchford her day in court in the interest of justice,’ Hembree’s . letter said. Both of his letters display a flagrant disregard for the victims families and his lack of remorse. 'I . laugh at you self righteous clowns and I spit in the face of your so . called justice system. The state of North Carolina has sentenced me to . death but it's not real,' he wrote in the letter to the Gaston Gazette. Central Prison . Central Prison was the first to be built in North Carolina, and was established in December 1884. It was built by inmates themselves and took 14 years to construct. Though it originally cost $1.25million to build, construction costs have gone up over the past century, and a major renovation in the 1980s cost $28.8million. The prison holds 1000 inmates and provides work for the 700 members of staff. Central Prison serves as the state's main execution chamber and houses all inmates on death row. On a lighter note, it has Bible study classes, team sports and job assignments within in the prison for 260 prisoners. Inmates can even take college correspondence courses through the prestigious University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was most recently ranked number 29 in the country.
family of a death row inmate who sent a letter to offered another letter as proof. Danny Hembree, color TV in the a/c, reading, taking naps . at Hembree (left) if accused of the murder of 17-year-old girl in 2009, as he's seen here admitted to killing two other women, though he boasted about his free government health care in execution chamber and houses all inmates on death