On second chances

While there's been much talk about the developing gang problem in Saskatchewan, a dangerous indicator of the sway of gangs seems to have flown largely under the radar:

A prisoner who died hours after arriving at Saskatchewan Penitentiary last week was once a high-ranking member of a street gang, but later renounced his gang life, CBC News has learned.

James Ronald Taylor, 28, died Dec. 22 after being stabbed three times while in a gymnasium in the high-security area of the Prince Albert prison. He had been transferred from an Edmonton prison earlier the same day...

(I)n 2004 when Taylor applied to be released, he said he had turned his back on gang-related crime. The (National Parole Board) said he appeared sincere in "denouncing" his gang membership.

"Your violent offending has been influenced and driven through your gang activities," the board said. "While you explained the serious implications to your own safety in leaving the gang and your own vulnerability, you were able to remain steadfast in your decision."

The article notes that there's been no definitive link between gang retribution and the killing. However, the effect of Taylor's death is surely to send a message to others that the prison system won't do much to keep them alive if they try to end their gang affiliation. And that can only force anybody who's already been recruited to keep up a role in the gang structure.

The ideal result would obviously be to prevent more people from joining gangs in the first place. But a full strategy to deal with gangs needs to also recognize that some people who join gangs while young and immature may well make a legitimate decision to change - a decision that society should be eager to encourage. And such decisions won't likely be made if the perceived outcome is death due to a lack of protection against the gang.