Chicago Gangland
I have no reference to gangs or the gang life but thought this story from an old Gangster Disciple was interesting. Maybe the natives of Chicago out here could weigh in since it appears that city is still struggling. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Lessons from 'Batman,' a former member of Chicago's Gangster Disciples - CNN.com
Wow. just ... wow.
It almost seems like he is pining for the heyday of organized street gangs in Chicago at times. I get the sense that he thought of himself as a mole with strong community values secretly operating in a corrupt, lawless gang that had started out as a legitimate community organization but became corrupt and violent over time.
You'll forgive me if I'm a little skeptical.
It's true that street gangs helped give some measure of community organization to some poor black folks in Chicago at one time. These were mostly people who, like Harris, moved to Chicago from the South with their families and, as recent migrants, had to find or build their own community. High-rise public housing like Cabrini Green only made that task more difficult, as people who lived there had no public spaces to take advantage of. They were all crowded into one of various tiny areas, without enough to do and nowhere to go, as Harris relates, and that made people ripe for picking by street gangs.
And certainly some members of street gangs did some good for the community. But former gang members frequently exaggerate that aspect of their activities, as if they weren't COLD-BLOODED MURDERERS when they weren't taking an interest in the youth of the community or doing whatever they wanted to portray themselves as doing.
My boss issued the order referenced in this article in a recent case (my friend and co-worker drafted the order):
Judge denies certificate of innocence in historic fixed case - Chicago Tribune
“Listening to Fields testimony, it would be difficult to distinguish the El Rukn organization from the Boy Scouts,” Biebel wrote.
I watched every minute of the testimony in Nathson Fields's post-conviction hearing. He is a COLD-BLOODED KILLER. He likely committed not only the murders he was convicted of committing but at least two others that I know of, and he was actively trying to rise up in the El-Rukn organization by taking on more "muscle" assignments. Listening to him sit up on the stand and portray himself as some kind of Santa Claus-like character who helped and worked with troubled young kids in the community was just stunning ... the nerve this guy had! When there was overwhelming evidence that he was El-Rukn muscle.
Then the prosecutor went after him on cross and ... yikes. Obviously the State's Attorney's office broke out the big guns for this case, because if Fields won his certificate of innocence he would have a great civil case against the city for monetary compensation for the years he spent in prison. The first-chair prosecutor was one of the top lawyers in the office. This guy thundered away at the witness for hours. Fields sat there and answered every question calmly and coolly like the gentle person he was claiming to be ... and then finally he broke. The prosecutor hounded him about previous frivolous lawsuits he'd filed, asking him who he'd named in the suit, and Fields looked at the prosecutor and said with PURE MALICE in his face and voice, "I named you."
No one looks like a killer on the stand. Almost never. It's not like in the movies. These old gangsters typically look and sound like old uncles and grandpas. You very rarely see the evil come out. This prosecutor succeeded in getting Fields to break character though. One of the most chilling moments of my life.
What's the point of this story? It's that I've seen this before, this routine of the old gangbanger who claims he was a pillar of his community even while he was gangbanging. I didn't buy it then. I don't buy it now.
