Inmates are erasing their gang tattoos at a Chicago-area jail through a novel program to leave their gangs and start new lives. Spurning their gangs puts them at risk of reprisals. The AP got exclusive access to them over two days inside the jail.
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.
Eck, jailed on burglary charges, earned the nickname “Hollywood” on the street for his swagger. But nightmares jarred him awake for days before he recently walked into the jail’s new tattoo-removal wing.“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.
“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.” Nearby, Meagen Begley removed hand tattoos of 27-year-old Latin Count leader Gilberto Rios, wielding a pen-like tool to scrape off outer skin, then injecting a saline solution. That pushes ink into a scab, which flakes away over several weeks.
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