Joey Ray Lucero laid it down in the language he learned on the streets of San Diego – the language of the gang culture in Logan Heights. He also did prison time on manslaughter charges.
“I’m not a killer,” Ray said. “I just did some crazy (expletive) stuff. Locking me up is gonna change me? No!!!"
Thomas Jefferson’s Criminal Law Society invited the former gang member come to TJSL to speak about Homeboy Industries of Los Angeles on Friday, February 23, 2007.
Ray spoke about how Homeboy Industries has transformed his life from being involved in a dangerous criminal lifestyle to becoming a contributing member of the community.
Criminal Law Society Vice President Kristen Growcock summarized Ray’s talk:
“Joey Ray Lucero mesmerized an intimate group of Thomas Jefferson students with tales of his former life as a gang member and told students: ‘even [his] worst day on the outside is better than [his] best day on the inside.’ Joey Ray, who has spent 13 of his last 29 years incarcerated, speaks highly of the purpose and goals of Homeboy Industries, the organization he now works for, whose slogan is, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.” Homeboy Industries, founded by Father Gregory J. Boyle, S.J., a Jesuit priest, “create[s] businesses that provide training, work experience, and above all, the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side.”
Criminal Law Society president Laura Smith had these observations about Ray’s presentation:
“I thought it really hit home, and was pertinent to us as current/prospective members of the legal field, that he felt that sentence enhancements were counter-productive to in many gang-related cases--especially for those who grew up with their families highly involved in the gang lifestyle. He felt that prison made it hard to disassociate with gangs (as gang-membership within prison is almost a requisite to survival), and found that a program which treated gang life like an addiction (similar to AA or NA), and his hope to make his son's life different than his own, is what helped him move past gang-involvement and become an active and productive member of the community. Also, I found it interesting that he mentioned that in California, child molesters currently tend to get off with lesser sentences than gang members for more horrific acts.”
For more information, visit http://www.homeboy-industries.org/index.php.