A novel gang-cessation and jobs program at a Chicago-area jail is giving inmates a chance to escape their gang lives
Erik Eck, a former member of the Latin Kings gang stands in the doorway of his cell at the DuPage County, Ill., Jail displaying tattoos that symbolize his status with the gang, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Under penalty of a beating or death, Eck pledged when he joined the Latin Kings in Chicago at 13 to adhere to the gang's first rule:"Once a King, always a King." Tattoos that cover his entire body express fealty forever to the gang, one of the nation's largest.
“This life is all I’ve ever known,” Eck said about agonizing over his decision to deface the tattoos that have been central to his identity for 20 years. “But it’s for the better.”One goal is to land the inmates jobs in horticulture, welding and other fields they're learning, said the program's civilian director and chief architect, Michael Beary.
“It’s a point of no return,” he said. “It’s a commitment to themselves — and to us, that we aren’t wasting our time.” On a previous day, Tom Begley transformed a Satan Disciples tattoo on Jaime Marinez's forearm from a Christian cross fashioned from rifles into the image of a vulture.
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