His first bad decision was hiring a hit man to kill his wife. The second made him a key partner in a 2000 prison break and ultimately cost the life of a Dallas-area police officer gunned down by the gang.
Rodriguez tells The Associated Press he needs to pay back and says "this is the way."
Rodriguez, who is 45, has been pushing for his own lethal injection for two years. He's set to die tomorrow.
He would be the first of the six surviving members of the "Texas 7" to be executed. His five accomplices are on death row awaiting the outcome of appeals.
Six gang members were captured in Colorado after six weeks on the run. One killed himself.
