Pathways to Early Violent Death
Pathways to Early Violent Death
We have highlighted the social context of violence among Black male serious youth offenders detained in an adult jail. The following themes emerged in the narratives of the participants in this study: the code of the street (respect and disrespect), violence as a form of labor, chronic exposure to violence, carrying a weapon, social networks, substance or alcohol use, institutional violence, and services. We have summarized the themes and presented selected responses from the focus group participants.
Violence, negotiation of the code of the street, and the importance of respect and protecting oneself were topics that participants openly discussed. In the focus group discussions, the threat of violent victimization and the adherence to the code framed when, how, and where to use violence. All the participants carried firearms daily, and all had witnessed a serious violent assault (shooting, stabbing, or beating). Approximately 75% of the participants had witnessed a homicide. Three of the participants witnessed the homicide of a friend or relative, and half reported confronting violence regularly, for example, while attending school or spending time with friends. Most youths expected to confront violence on a daily basis. BL and BG discuss the threat of violence, the maintenance of street respect, and always being prepared for conflict:
You got to be ready to put in your work [violence] at any time; it doesn't matter what it's over: disrespect, money, whatever. Work is work. (BG, aged 17 years)
You have to be ready because it [violence] can happen at any time… . Someone is always going to try [disrespect] you. Once you violate [disrespect] my space, you gotta get dealt with [use violence]. (BL, aged 16 years)
The findings suggest that some youth offenders equated violence to labor. In communities where Black male youths are often chronically unemployed and marginalized from mainstream opportunities and labor markets, economic violence—meaning violence associated with economic crime— represents a form of work. Accumulated engagements in violent events on the street give an individual credibility and respect and in a sense build the "street resume." Youths considered both noneconomic violence and economic violence, such as fighting for a gang or murdering a rival over drug territory, as "working." Several youths used the phrase "putting in work" to describe violence as work. The concept of putting in work translates into the respect and deference that one properly deserves for the cumulative experiences of engaging in violence. Putting in work is a central part of low-income young Black men making their way through the dangerous world in which they live. Many youths in the study perceived building a reputation and acquiring and maintaining respect through the use of violence as a full-time occupation. During their waking hours, they appeared to be constantly working to protect their self-respect and build and defend their reputations while simultaneously working to earn income from crime and violence. Here Mo and Dre describe the concept of putting in work.
I have put in too much work [violence and crime] in my "hood" to give it up [respect and reputation] to some other dude. Plus, I got a family name to protect … 'cause they killed my brother, so I can't be soft in no way. (Mo, aged 17 years) Nobody around our neighborhoods is working. So hitting someone's head [murder], it's like working. Youngins [adolescents] in my hood [neighborhood] already know they're not going to get no job and they're not going to college. So for them this is work; this is how they work. This is how they earn their rep [reputation]. Bottom line, no matter what world you in, the underworld, the real world, whatever world, people want to be respected. In the underworld, the street world, you progress and get respect by putting in work [violence], doing things that other people in the real world might think is wrong, like laying somebody down [murder]. For us, hitting somebody's head [murder] might be the only way to deal with a situation. For some, it might bother you at first, you might have nightmares about it, but after you put in more work you get used to it. That's just how it is. (Dre, aged 16 years)
The most common forms of violence that youth offenders experienced as perpetrators, victims, and witnesses were fights, threats with weapons, and shootings. The interviews revealed that most youths in the study expressed no fear of these sorts of violence. Several boys were desensitized to the threat of violent victimization. Participants routinely described a loss of fear and lack of emotion toward violence and death. The participants also expressed that early violent death was an inevitable outcome in their lives. Faced with the looming danger of being killed or violently injured, many youths did not envision living beyond young adulthood. This fatalistic form of PTSD is defined as emotional numbing. Eleven of the 15 (73%) participants expressed symptoms of emotional numbness and thought that their life expectancy would not exceed young adulthood. Many inner-city adolescents crave respect to such a degree that they will risk their lives to attain and maintain it and feel that it is acceptable to risk dying over the principle of respect. To display a lack of fear of dying portrays "true nerve." Consequently, they often lead an existential life. Not being afraid to die is by implication to have no compunction about taking another's life if the situation demands it. Method and Ice provide their narratives describing their lack of emotional connectedness to victims of homicide and the inevitability of early violent death.
It's not about being scared. You got to show no fear. All I need to know is a guy got beef … after that, it's on [attack or defend yourself]. And, we always say in my neighborhood, "If you got did [murdered or violently assaulted] … then your ass deserved it!" It's like when I see a guy laying out, dead in the street. I like to look and see if his eyes are open. If they are open, then I say he deserved it. (Method, aged 16 years)
No matter what you do out here, you gonna die anyway; you can die stepping off a bus into the street. We all got to die. Beef [disputes] on the street, f-king raw [unprotected sex], it's all the same to me; you can die from anything out here. I mean what's the difference? We all got to die. (Ice, aged 17 years)
Some participants lived in peaceful communities but faced numerous conflicts at school or traveling on public transportation. Many worried about being hassled, threatened, or challenged to fight while in or on their way to and from school. Violence often occurred in public, densely populated places in the neighborhood or school setting. Anderson characterizes these public spaces as the "staging area"—a physical space where the campaign for respect is most often waged. Staging areas typically are neighborhood establishments youths frequent, such as fast-food carryouts, street corners, basketball courts, schoolyards, liquor stores, bars, and public transportation (bus stops and subway stations). In these staging areas, young Black men "perform" by engaging in violence as a means to acquire and maintain respect. In the staging area, the basic requirement is the display of a certain predisposition to violence. One's bearing must send the unmistakable if sometimes subtle message to other persons in the staging area that one is capable of violence and mayhem when the situation requires it, that one can take care of oneself. Here Ray and Ali discuss school and public transportation as the staging areas in their campaign for respect.
Yeah, I live in a decent neighborhood, but I had to go to the same school with some dudes who were always looking for something to get into … and they be going hard every day [instigating violence]. So my crew always had beef [disputes] with them. I had to be ready to fight at any time. They were always trying to take somebody's heart [respect]. (Ray, aged 17 years)
I had to take 2 buses to school that go through neighborhoods with dudes I got beef with. I lost a fight real bad once on the bus. So I just stopped going to school. Something was popping off [violence] every day; either I was going to kill them, or they were going to kill me. (Ali, aged 17 years)
We asked participants to rate the safety of their neighborhoods on a scale of 1 (safe) to 10 (dangerous). They rated safety in their communities as dangerous. Several youths indicated that they had witnessed the homicide of a relative or close friend.
Interviewer: On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 meaning your neighborhood is safe and 10 meaning that your neighborhood is dangerous. How would you rate it?
Malik (aged 16 years): I would rate it a 20. It's always somebody getting shot in my neighborhood. Kenny (aged 16 years): I would rate it a 10. Two of my friends were murdered right beside me in a drive-by. Somebody drove by shooting, so we all fell on the ground, but they didn't get up; they died right there in front of me.
G (aged 16 years): I would give it a 10. I seen my man [friend] shot in the head right in front of me; he died in my arms.
Mo (aged 17 years): No doubt it would be a 10 maybe 20. I got shot in my neighborhood, and my brother was killed in front of me. He got killed in a new pair of Jordan's. I still have them. I have the sweat suit he was killed in too. It still has the blood on it.
All the youth offenders in this study expressed the need to carry a weapon at all times for protection. Weapons played an important and complicated role in establishing respect and self-image. For many young inner-city men, a weapon is part of an individual's personal possessions, like clothes, jewelry, and sneakers, that speak for him in his campaign for respect. Carrying a weapon commands respect and gives the appearance in the staging area that he will not tolerate transgressions by others.
Interviewer: Have you ever carried a weapon for protection? All participants agreed that carrying a firearm is necessary. Ice (aged 17 years): I carry my gun anywhere I go. I mean if I got to crush [kill or maim] someone, then I will. I don't care. It's either him or me.
Tee (aged 17 years): I carry my gun around anywhere, even if my mother is around. I mean if I see the guy I got beef with [dispute] then I'm gonna crush him regardless of who is around. Mo (aged 17 years): Yeah, I've even carried my gun to Juma [Muslim prayer at a local mosque on Friday afternoon]. It's plenty of dudes in Juma with gats [guns] on them. You might be safe in Juma, but you still have to get back home.
All the boys in the study were members of a gang. Their strong social ties to the gang were characterized by loyalty to their peers. Studies have shown that Black male delinquent youths who co-offend with other delinquent youths, particularly violently, are more likely to be victims of violence. Here, Mo, a victim of violent firearm injury, discusses engaging in violence.
I got 4 friends I run with; we all been friends since we was little. We chop dope up and get money together. We put in work together [selling drugs and engaging in violence associated with drug dealing] and have taken charges for each other. I've taken a bullet for one of them. (Mo, aged 17 years)
Twelve (80%) participants reported that they smoked marijuana on a regular basis. Two (13%) participants reported smoking "wet" (marijuana and PCP [phencyclidine]) regularly and using cocaine periodically. Five (33%) participants reported drinking regularly. The reasons they used drugs or drank alcohol varied. Some smoked marijuana regularly with members of their family at home and when gathering with peers. Others drank alcohol before engaging in sex. Some youths who sold drugs (specifically crack cocaine) exchanged sex for drugs. As part of the exchange, they would often get high with their sexual partners.
I chief [smoke marijuana] all day, every day. I love smoking with the Backwoods [cigars used for smoking marijuana]. (Mo, aged 17 years) I like to get my drink on. I like to drink that Goose, E&J, or Henny [brands of alcohol] but I might chief every now and then. I won't have sex, though, unless I'mdrunk off that Goose. (G, aged 16 years) I've been raised on smoking Backwoods all my life, so that's all I smoke. (Lenny, aged 17 years) I like to smoke that wet [marijuana and PCP,] and sometimes I like to sniff a little bit [cocaine]. (BL, aged 16 years)
I trick [exchange drugs for sex] all the time. I give these hoes [women] 2 stones [crack] for some head [oral sex]. (Ice, aged 17 years)
For many, negotiating the social context of violence in the adult jail system was quite similar to negotiating violence on the streets. The code that governed interpersonal violence on the streets also governed the use of violence and aggression in jail. Youths appeared to be in a perpetual state of hypervigilance, always cognizant of the potential risk for violent victimization.
You can't trust nobody in here; ain't nobody your friend; you got to watch your back at all times. You can never get caught slipping [not being alert], or somebody might stab you or jump you. Whatever. I just stay to myself and read my bible. This ain't nothing like juvie [juvenile detention], where everything is nice and sweet. Once you're here, it's no joke. You can't show no signs of weakness up in here. If you do, you'll be asking for pc [protective custody]. That's when everybody knows you're a b-tch. (Ace, aged 17 years)
Adult jail is the real deal. Once I put on that orange jumper, I realized this ain't no Pine Mills [juvenile detention facility]. That was child's play up there. Ain't nothing sweet about being in here. This is gladiator school. (Darius, aged 17 years)
According to research, services for youth offenders detained in adult jails are limited. The sanctions and services youth offenders receive may affect the future trajectory of their lives. We asked youths if they received any services while incarcerated.
Interviewer: Are there any violence prevention programs for you here at the jail?
G (aged 16 years): Nah, we don't get sh-t up in here but the GED [general equivalency diploma] program. There ain't no other programs in here for us.
Ice (aged 17 years): All we get is GED and the math teacher. He don't even know what he's doing. Besides y'all [researchers] coming here, all we have is a poetry program.
Results
We have highlighted the social context of violence among Black male serious youth offenders detained in an adult jail. The following themes emerged in the narratives of the participants in this study: the code of the street (respect and disrespect), violence as a form of labor, chronic exposure to violence, carrying a weapon, social networks, substance or alcohol use, institutional violence, and services. We have summarized the themes and presented selected responses from the focus group participants.
Acquisition and Maintenance of Street Respect
Violence, negotiation of the code of the street, and the importance of respect and protecting oneself were topics that participants openly discussed. In the focus group discussions, the threat of violent victimization and the adherence to the code framed when, how, and where to use violence. All the participants carried firearms daily, and all had witnessed a serious violent assault (shooting, stabbing, or beating). Approximately 75% of the participants had witnessed a homicide. Three of the participants witnessed the homicide of a friend or relative, and half reported confronting violence regularly, for example, while attending school or spending time with friends. Most youths expected to confront violence on a daily basis. BL and BG discuss the threat of violence, the maintenance of street respect, and always being prepared for conflict:
You got to be ready to put in your work [violence] at any time; it doesn't matter what it's over: disrespect, money, whatever. Work is work. (BG, aged 17 years)
You have to be ready because it [violence] can happen at any time… . Someone is always going to try [disrespect] you. Once you violate [disrespect] my space, you gotta get dealt with [use violence]. (BL, aged 16 years)
Violence as a Form of Labor
The findings suggest that some youth offenders equated violence to labor. In communities where Black male youths are often chronically unemployed and marginalized from mainstream opportunities and labor markets, economic violence—meaning violence associated with economic crime— represents a form of work. Accumulated engagements in violent events on the street give an individual credibility and respect and in a sense build the "street resume." Youths considered both noneconomic violence and economic violence, such as fighting for a gang or murdering a rival over drug territory, as "working." Several youths used the phrase "putting in work" to describe violence as work. The concept of putting in work translates into the respect and deference that one properly deserves for the cumulative experiences of engaging in violence. Putting in work is a central part of low-income young Black men making their way through the dangerous world in which they live. Many youths in the study perceived building a reputation and acquiring and maintaining respect through the use of violence as a full-time occupation. During their waking hours, they appeared to be constantly working to protect their self-respect and build and defend their reputations while simultaneously working to earn income from crime and violence. Here Mo and Dre describe the concept of putting in work.
I have put in too much work [violence and crime] in my "hood" to give it up [respect and reputation] to some other dude. Plus, I got a family name to protect … 'cause they killed my brother, so I can't be soft in no way. (Mo, aged 17 years) Nobody around our neighborhoods is working. So hitting someone's head [murder], it's like working. Youngins [adolescents] in my hood [neighborhood] already know they're not going to get no job and they're not going to college. So for them this is work; this is how they work. This is how they earn their rep [reputation]. Bottom line, no matter what world you in, the underworld, the real world, whatever world, people want to be respected. In the underworld, the street world, you progress and get respect by putting in work [violence], doing things that other people in the real world might think is wrong, like laying somebody down [murder]. For us, hitting somebody's head [murder] might be the only way to deal with a situation. For some, it might bother you at first, you might have nightmares about it, but after you put in more work you get used to it. That's just how it is. (Dre, aged 16 years)
Mechanisms for Coping With Chronic Exposure to Violence
The most common forms of violence that youth offenders experienced as perpetrators, victims, and witnesses were fights, threats with weapons, and shootings. The interviews revealed that most youths in the study expressed no fear of these sorts of violence. Several boys were desensitized to the threat of violent victimization. Participants routinely described a loss of fear and lack of emotion toward violence and death. The participants also expressed that early violent death was an inevitable outcome in their lives. Faced with the looming danger of being killed or violently injured, many youths did not envision living beyond young adulthood. This fatalistic form of PTSD is defined as emotional numbing. Eleven of the 15 (73%) participants expressed symptoms of emotional numbness and thought that their life expectancy would not exceed young adulthood. Many inner-city adolescents crave respect to such a degree that they will risk their lives to attain and maintain it and feel that it is acceptable to risk dying over the principle of respect. To display a lack of fear of dying portrays "true nerve." Consequently, they often lead an existential life. Not being afraid to die is by implication to have no compunction about taking another's life if the situation demands it. Method and Ice provide their narratives describing their lack of emotional connectedness to victims of homicide and the inevitability of early violent death.
It's not about being scared. You got to show no fear. All I need to know is a guy got beef … after that, it's on [attack or defend yourself]. And, we always say in my neighborhood, "If you got did [murdered or violently assaulted] … then your ass deserved it!" It's like when I see a guy laying out, dead in the street. I like to look and see if his eyes are open. If they are open, then I say he deserved it. (Method, aged 16 years)
No matter what you do out here, you gonna die anyway; you can die stepping off a bus into the street. We all got to die. Beef [disputes] on the street, f-king raw [unprotected sex], it's all the same to me; you can die from anything out here. I mean what's the difference? We all got to die. (Ice, aged 17 years)
Chronic Exposure to Violence Across Contexts
Some participants lived in peaceful communities but faced numerous conflicts at school or traveling on public transportation. Many worried about being hassled, threatened, or challenged to fight while in or on their way to and from school. Violence often occurred in public, densely populated places in the neighborhood or school setting. Anderson characterizes these public spaces as the "staging area"—a physical space where the campaign for respect is most often waged. Staging areas typically are neighborhood establishments youths frequent, such as fast-food carryouts, street corners, basketball courts, schoolyards, liquor stores, bars, and public transportation (bus stops and subway stations). In these staging areas, young Black men "perform" by engaging in violence as a means to acquire and maintain respect. In the staging area, the basic requirement is the display of a certain predisposition to violence. One's bearing must send the unmistakable if sometimes subtle message to other persons in the staging area that one is capable of violence and mayhem when the situation requires it, that one can take care of oneself. Here Ray and Ali discuss school and public transportation as the staging areas in their campaign for respect.
Yeah, I live in a decent neighborhood, but I had to go to the same school with some dudes who were always looking for something to get into … and they be going hard every day [instigating violence]. So my crew always had beef [disputes] with them. I had to be ready to fight at any time. They were always trying to take somebody's heart [respect]. (Ray, aged 17 years)
I had to take 2 buses to school that go through neighborhoods with dudes I got beef with. I lost a fight real bad once on the bus. So I just stopped going to school. Something was popping off [violence] every day; either I was going to kill them, or they were going to kill me. (Ali, aged 17 years)
We asked participants to rate the safety of their neighborhoods on a scale of 1 (safe) to 10 (dangerous). They rated safety in their communities as dangerous. Several youths indicated that they had witnessed the homicide of a relative or close friend.
Interviewer: On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 meaning your neighborhood is safe and 10 meaning that your neighborhood is dangerous. How would you rate it?
Malik (aged 16 years): I would rate it a 20. It's always somebody getting shot in my neighborhood. Kenny (aged 16 years): I would rate it a 10. Two of my friends were murdered right beside me in a drive-by. Somebody drove by shooting, so we all fell on the ground, but they didn't get up; they died right there in front of me.
G (aged 16 years): I would give it a 10. I seen my man [friend] shot in the head right in front of me; he died in my arms.
Mo (aged 17 years): No doubt it would be a 10 maybe 20. I got shot in my neighborhood, and my brother was killed in front of me. He got killed in a new pair of Jordan's. I still have them. I have the sweat suit he was killed in too. It still has the blood on it.
Carrying a Weapon
All the youth offenders in this study expressed the need to carry a weapon at all times for protection. Weapons played an important and complicated role in establishing respect and self-image. For many young inner-city men, a weapon is part of an individual's personal possessions, like clothes, jewelry, and sneakers, that speak for him in his campaign for respect. Carrying a weapon commands respect and gives the appearance in the staging area that he will not tolerate transgressions by others.
Interviewer: Have you ever carried a weapon for protection? All participants agreed that carrying a firearm is necessary. Ice (aged 17 years): I carry my gun anywhere I go. I mean if I got to crush [kill or maim] someone, then I will. I don't care. It's either him or me.
Tee (aged 17 years): I carry my gun around anywhere, even if my mother is around. I mean if I see the guy I got beef with [dispute] then I'm gonna crush him regardless of who is around. Mo (aged 17 years): Yeah, I've even carried my gun to Juma [Muslim prayer at a local mosque on Friday afternoon]. It's plenty of dudes in Juma with gats [guns] on them. You might be safe in Juma, but you still have to get back home.
Social Networks
All the boys in the study were members of a gang. Their strong social ties to the gang were characterized by loyalty to their peers. Studies have shown that Black male delinquent youths who co-offend with other delinquent youths, particularly violently, are more likely to be victims of violence. Here, Mo, a victim of violent firearm injury, discusses engaging in violence.
I got 4 friends I run with; we all been friends since we was little. We chop dope up and get money together. We put in work together [selling drugs and engaging in violence associated with drug dealing] and have taken charges for each other. I've taken a bullet for one of them. (Mo, aged 17 years)
Substance and Alcohol Use
Twelve (80%) participants reported that they smoked marijuana on a regular basis. Two (13%) participants reported smoking "wet" (marijuana and PCP [phencyclidine]) regularly and using cocaine periodically. Five (33%) participants reported drinking regularly. The reasons they used drugs or drank alcohol varied. Some smoked marijuana regularly with members of their family at home and when gathering with peers. Others drank alcohol before engaging in sex. Some youths who sold drugs (specifically crack cocaine) exchanged sex for drugs. As part of the exchange, they would often get high with their sexual partners.
I chief [smoke marijuana] all day, every day. I love smoking with the Backwoods [cigars used for smoking marijuana]. (Mo, aged 17 years) I like to get my drink on. I like to drink that Goose, E&J, or Henny [brands of alcohol] but I might chief every now and then. I won't have sex, though, unless I'mdrunk off that Goose. (G, aged 16 years) I've been raised on smoking Backwoods all my life, so that's all I smoke. (Lenny, aged 17 years) I like to smoke that wet [marijuana and PCP,] and sometimes I like to sniff a little bit [cocaine]. (BL, aged 16 years)
I trick [exchange drugs for sex] all the time. I give these hoes [women] 2 stones [crack] for some head [oral sex]. (Ice, aged 17 years)
Negotiating Violence in Jail
For many, negotiating the social context of violence in the adult jail system was quite similar to negotiating violence on the streets. The code that governed interpersonal violence on the streets also governed the use of violence and aggression in jail. Youths appeared to be in a perpetual state of hypervigilance, always cognizant of the potential risk for violent victimization.
You can't trust nobody in here; ain't nobody your friend; you got to watch your back at all times. You can never get caught slipping [not being alert], or somebody might stab you or jump you. Whatever. I just stay to myself and read my bible. This ain't nothing like juvie [juvenile detention], where everything is nice and sweet. Once you're here, it's no joke. You can't show no signs of weakness up in here. If you do, you'll be asking for pc [protective custody]. That's when everybody knows you're a b-tch. (Ace, aged 17 years)
Adult jail is the real deal. Once I put on that orange jumper, I realized this ain't no Pine Mills [juvenile detention facility]. That was child's play up there. Ain't nothing sweet about being in here. This is gladiator school. (Darius, aged 17 years)
Services
According to research, services for youth offenders detained in adult jails are limited. The sanctions and services youth offenders receive may affect the future trajectory of their lives. We asked youths if they received any services while incarcerated.
Interviewer: Are there any violence prevention programs for you here at the jail?
G (aged 16 years): Nah, we don't get sh-t up in here but the GED [general equivalency diploma] program. There ain't no other programs in here for us.
Ice (aged 17 years): All we get is GED and the math teacher. He don't even know what he's doing. Besides y'all [researchers] coming here, all we have is a poetry program.