NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- One of the jail inmates who said an accused serial killer tried to hire him to kill witnesses said his life has been difficult since he's been labeled a snitch.

Video: Witness Claims He's Been Unfairly Treated

Bruce Mendenhall, a former truck driver, is charged with killing prostitutes at truck stops in various states, including Tennessee.

Next week he will be charged with attempting to hire two jail mates to kill five witnesses, including Detectives Pat Postiglione and Lee Freeman.

One of the inmates Mendenhall allegedly tried to hire wrote a letter to Channel 4 that said his good deed is being punished. Roy McLauglin and Mike Jenkins both agreed to testify against Mendenhall.

Jenkins is in the middle of a prison sentence at Charles Bass Correctional Complex. He wrote Channel 4 and said that the day the story came out, he was put in protective custody and isolated as a snitch.

"So, as you can see, I am in a real hardship situation now. I spend very, very long 24 hours days in my cell, cut off from everything I know. I cannot work a job, or go to church, or use the library or recreational facilities in prison," Jenkins wrote in a letter to Channel 4.

Former district attorney, now defense attorney, Jim Todd said any special treatment right now for a prisoner working with the state could ruin the case.

"Because if they do, it poisons the witness. It has to be turned over to the defense, and the defense will of course raise that when the person is testifying," said Todd.

That isn't to say that in the future there won't be a reward. Jenkins will be up for parole in 2010.

"It would be an opportunity for the state to write letters to the parole board to recommend his release. If he has any pending charges that are still in front of the Davidson County or any other district attorney's office in the state," said Todd.

But 2010 feels like a long way for Jenkins, and he feels like he is being punished for his good deed.

"It seems as though I also am being punished severely along with Mendenhall, and I did what was right in order to save these detectives lives," wrote Jenkins.

Over his lifetime, Jenkins has faced various charges and arrests in middle Tennessee, and he also has a record in Florida. He has escaped from prison on two different occasions by walking away from jobs.

When Mendenhall is charged next week, the public is expected to hear more details about the alleged murder-for-hire scheme.