Indentifying Prison Gangs: Their Bonds and Their Ink

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While in prison criminals become part of the gang or a member of the gang's victim pool. Race and culture seem to be the major factors in the victimization of inmates. The inmate may not be racist when he enters the system, however the need for survival against other inmates may force these characteristics to become more prominent. In the summer of 1998, a young man named William King was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of James Byrd Jr. Byrd was a black man from Jasper County, Texas, whom was bound at the ankles and dragged to death behind a truck. Why would this young man commit such a terrible and seemingly racist crime? Most would agree that it was his time spent in prison that led William King to take the life of James Byrd Jr. Friends and family of William stated that he was a pleasant before he went to prison for burglary. When he was released, he was a different person who spoke about white supremacy and was anxious to initiate his own supremacist gang. King’s defense attorney explained that it was the high rate of violence in the Texas correctional institute that caused him to become a gang member for a sense of security. William's defense attorney argued that he was merely a victim of the deteriorating prison system in this country (Racism, tolerance, and perfected redemption: A rhetorical critique of the dragging trial, Larry A. Williamson, 2009). The reality of prison gangs is nearly impossible to ignore. King's story, although not a defense for his crime, sheds light on today's prisons and the gangs within them. Newly admitted convicts are often victimized to no end until they join a group or gang that displays power and their intentions to survive prison life. Violence, rape, and murder are just a fe... ... middle of paper ... ...view of the Challenge of Prison Gangs Fleisher, M. S. Decker, S. H. Corrections Management Quarterly, 2001, VOL 5; ISS 1, pa 1-9 Organizational Structure of Prison Gangs: A Texas Case Study R S Fong Federal Probation Volume:54 Issue:1 Dated:(March 1990) Pages:36-43 Prison Gang Members' Tattoos as Identity Work: The Visual Communication of Moral Careers. Phelan, M. P. and Hunt, S. A. (1998), Symbolic Interaction, 21: 277–298 Racism, tolerance, and perfected redemption: A rhetorical critique of the dragging trial Larry A. Williamson, Southern Communication Journal, Vol. 67, Iss. 3, 2009 The influence of prisons on inmate misconduct: A multilevel investigation Scott D. Camp, Gerald G. Gaes, Neal P. Langan, William G. Saylor Justice Quarterly, Vol. 20, Iss. 3, 2006

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