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There might be people who wonder why some people have certain marks on their body as well as what they mean once someone has come out of prison. Throughout geographical location and the march of time, tattoos from prison can potentially mean multiple different things or their meaning has changed throughout the years. These types of meanings include belongingness to a gang, ownership, retaliation, how long they will be in prison, as well as to show some of the crimes they have done to get locked up.
These tattoos can lead to bad encounters for someone to be considered as a stranger. Thus, this can serve as a guide for your safety and describe which people you should watch out for in public. Prison tattoos can be dangerous indicators because it divides people in prison since their tattoos can mean something so dangerous that it could put the people the tattoo targets at high risk.
The initial goal of being a tattoo artist in prison is to gain riches as there is a lot of money to be had in prison while making tattoos.
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Money in prison as you would imagine is scarce and any outside job you plan to do in prison can be very risky. There are people in prison called “snitches” that like to rat out on other people who are doing things they’re not supposed to so that the snitch can get his time in prison reduced. Getting caught could end you up in what the prisoners like to call “the hole” which is basically solitary confinement.
As well as worrying about getting caught, another big risk factor is your life if you don’t do a tattoo that is satisfying to the customer. One bad tattoo could leave you with a fight on your hands or even worse, getting shanked. That’s why many tattoo artists in prison like to practice on their own arms before they commit to any clients.
The signs within different gangs change as law enforcement catches onto them. Some of the gang tattoos such as those from the Latin Kings and the Aryan Brothers do not typically change much besides maybe some minute details that may be adding which potentially have a meaning of their own. These kinds of tattoos from those types of gangs do not change so much because of their prominence both in and out of prison and some of these gangs like the Latin Kings have been around since the 1940’s.
Prison tattoos, whether they’re harmful or not, can also say a lot of things about an individual wearing them. Since tattooing in jail is an illicit activity, it shows the prisoners who partake in it are fearless
One of the most prominent tattoos in prison is a skull that is sometimes paired with a bouquet of roses. The skull can represent the time that prison has taken away from them, especially people in prison for life because their life had already been taken. The rose exemplifies beauty and divine perfection. These skull tattoos can either be of a singular skull or multiple skulls.
A tattoo that is also big in prisons as well as outside of prison is the teardrop tattoo. This tattoo can mean different things depending on the region and time the tattoo was done but it’s always located directly below the eye. Initially the tattoo meant that they had committed murder; however now it has also taken up another meaning. It can also represent the amount of people in their family that died while they were in prison, with each drop representing a family member. A teardrop that is not filled in can tell someone that the inmate of the person with the tattoo has been killed and now he’s seeking revenge. You’ll know when he or she gets her revenge when the tattoo is filled in. Modern day rappers have made this tattoo a popular to fans not familiar with the prison system. Wearing this tattoo while freshly locked up can create you a lot of enemies fast in prison, especially if the tattoo wasn’t even done in prison.
A cobweb on the elbow or neck signifies the long time a prisoner is having to face. If it is not a black and white cobweb then it has most likely not been done in prison since it is really difficult to find the materials needed to do tattoos in different colors while locked up. The web is supposed to depict a spider catching its prey like a prisoner that’s stuck behind bars. If the tattoo is on the elbow it connotes that the prisoner has been sitting around for so long with his elbow on the table that there are spiderwebs on it.
Dots on the hands and eyes are another popular prison tattoo and the number of dots can mean certain things. If a person has 3 dots in a triangular form on the hands or near the eye, it means that they are associated in a gang. There also can be some religious meanings tied to the tattoo as well, representing the holy trinity of Christianity. Five dots can mean the amount of time a prisoner is serving. It is designed with four dots in a square or rectangular formation, representing the cell and a dot in the middle that represents the prisoner locked in the cell. This tattoo is put in between the thumb and index finger; however, if it is found on any other part of the body it could be associated with a gang such as People Nation. Both the three and five dotted tattoos use a tattooing method called the stick-and-poke method which is made using very crude tools, usually anything an inmate can find that can penetrate through skin.
One of the biggest hispanic gangs are known as the Latin Kings. They are based in Chicago and are represented with a five point crown. The crown may also sport the letters “ALKN” on it that means Almighty Latin Kings Nation. There are five points on the crown due to the Latin Kings’ association with the People Nation gang.
If an inmate has a tattoo with a hand of playing cards, it can mean multiple things. Even the suit of the cards can mean something. A club suit can symbolize a criminal in general, a diamond represents a snitch or an undercover officer, a spade symbolizes a thief, and a heart can mean that someone is looking for a love partner in prison whether they forcibly get one or not. Typically the card tattoo represents that the person likes to gamble or thinks that life itself is a gamble. This tattoo is popular in prisons out in Russia.
The Aryan Brotherhood gang makes up 20 percent of all prison murders and their markings vary. These tattoos could be just the letters ‘AB’ or Nazi symbols like the swastika or SS bolts. These tattoos are also known in prison as an Alice Baker, the Brand, or the One-Two.
MS-13 is a gang in around 40 states in the United States. The gang originates from Los Angeles founded from a group of immigrants from El Salvador. Their crimes range from from drug dealing, murder, rape, as well as child trafficking. Their symbol is either just the letters ‘MS’, just the number ‘13’, or both. This tattoo can be located on any part of the body including back, arms, or even the face and neck area.
If someone has an ‘M’ on their back that could mean that they are from the Mexican Mafia. They are also called La Eme or The M. The gang is known to be one of the biggest and vicious gangs in the United States, allying with the Aryan Brotherhood. It was started in Southern California from a group of Mexican-Americans locked in an American prison.
So now that know what kind of tattoos you’re looking for, you’ll be able to know better the troubles a person has gone through or the amount of hurt that they can potentially give. Being informed about dangerous tattoos can help prevent a situation from going bad before you even encounter them.
Prison Tattoos and Their Meaning. (2021, Aug 03). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/prison-tattoos-and-their-meaning-essay
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