Valparaiso University Law Review Volume 50 Number 3 Spring 2016 pp.765-818 Spring 2016 How Do I Divorce My Gang?: Modifying the Defense of Withdrawal for a Gang-Related Conspiracy Cecelia M. Harper Valparaiso University Law School,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Cecelia M. Harper, How Do I Divorce My Gang?: Modifying the Defense of Withdrawal for a Gang-Related Conspiracy, 50 Val. U. L. Rev. 765 (2016). Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol50/iss3/8 This Notes is brought to you for free and open access by the Valparaiso University Law School at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Valparaiso University Law Review by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at
[email protected]. Harper: How Do I Divorce My Gang?: Modifying the Defense of Withdrawal fo HOW DO I DIVORCE MY GANG?: MODIFYING THE DEFENSE OF WITHDRAWAL FOR A GANG-RELATED CONSPIRACY I. INTRODUCTION “As for all Aryan Brotherhood defectors, you are on a hit list and you’re going to die one day. You might have divorced the Brand[,] but the Brand hasn’t divorced you.”1 Casper Crowell, a former Aryan Brotherhood member, echoes a popular creed promised by many gangs: “blood in, blood out.”2 In translation, a recruit’s gang initiation may begin with instructions to be physically beaten or commit a violent crime.3 Once a bona fide gang member, the only way out is blood.4 As punishment