The can, set above a mop-string wick, was fed through the lid of a mineral oil bottle, much as olive oil had fed lamps for millennia. Batches were made with a few drops of state-issued hand soap mixed with soot that had collected inside half of a cola can. One of the best ways to reduce blood-borne disease transmission was, and still is, not sharing ink. It took many years for Cellie’s hepatitis C to cover his liver with scar tissue until it hardened into a rock, but eventually he too went on ahead to party with Pops and my brothers. Beneath the hum of a tattoo gun assembled from cassette player parts, the bird’s leg became an eagle’s claw, holding a crystal ball with a black rose inside. My ink-slinging cellie said the “EATH” looked like a bird’s leg, and I liked his artistic vision. I had one that spelled out “DOC DEATH” in vertical letters down my shoulder blade, until someone cowardly stuck a shank in it and turned it into “DOC D~”.Ī cable wire would be held over a candle flame and pulled from the ends-two fresh needles, sharp and sterilized. I got the standard spiderweb on the elbow because someone died by that arm. Mine is the only one still above ground.Īfter I went to prison, tattoo culture was part of daily life. The other five Lost Souls have gone on, their tattoos with them. Those once-separate elements have melted together over the decades, but each of them had meaning and still do. All of us got the same ink: the “1%” symbol inside the diamond outline, above a longhorn skull, above a four-point compass with an “S” at each point. We had a knack for wrong turns and misguided shortcuts, and often got turned around on some back country road where there always seemed to be a longhorn bull skull. The next tattoo came after six of us formed a small biker gang: Lost Souls. The black India ink is gray now compared to when it was first picked in freehand with a straight needle the Reaper looks softer. I’m not superstitious, it’s just the kind of thing you remember. My father died right after that, before the skin had even healed. This tattoo is of the ‘Black Hand of Death,’ a symbol known to be used by the Mexican Mafia.I got my first tattoo at 15, a Grim Reaper profile with the scythe arcing over its head. (Photo Intelligence Unit Westchester County Department of Corrections) These Chinese characters translate to ‘LATIN’ and ‘KING.’ The Latin Kings are also known as the Almighty Latin King Nation. (Photo Canada Border Services Agency - Windsor) This style of tattoo is popular among Latin and Asian gang members. “Laugh now, cry later,” “play now, pay later,” and “my happy life, my sad life” are just a few. military and other law enforcement agencies)Ĭommon among gang members, clown face or mask tattoos can have many different meanings. BGF commonly use different versions of a dragon surrounding a prison tower and holding a correctional officer in its clutches. This Black Guerilla Family (BGF) tattoo displays a black dragon attacking a prison gun tower. (Photo Federal Bureau of Prisons, March 2008) The letters A/B on the shield of the knight represent Aryan Brotherhood. (Photo Calgary Police Service Organized Crime Section) This tattoo depicts the image of a boot sole and tattooed knuckles spelling ‘SKIN.’ It represents neo-Nazi skinheads. (Photo Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia Vol. A cat tattoo can also be indicative of an inmate who does not like law enforcement, especially if worn on the chest. One cat means they worked alone several means they were part of a gang. II)Ī cat tattoo is representative of a thief. II)Īnother typically Russian tattoo, barbed wire across the forehead means a life sentence without the possibility of parole. An image of birds flying over the horizon means “I was born free and should be free.” (Photo Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia Vol. The bearer of this tattoo enjoys freedom and is escape-minded. The number ‘276' represents the second, seventh and sixth letters of the alphabet, (B, G, F) the initials for the Black Guerrilla Family.
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