Tear
This tattoo is one of the best known in the world of prisons and can have different meanings. Most often, if you see a prisoner with a tear tattooed under the eye, it means that he is serving a long sentence or has already committed murder. In this context, the tear symbolizes sadness and grief for the mother of the murdered.
The tattoo can also mean that the person has attempted murder or that a friend of the prisoner has been murdered and he wants revenge on him.
Essentially, an ink-filled tear means that the prisoner already has at least one crime behind him, and with each subsequent murder, a new tear is added.
If
the tear is not filled, it may indicate that the “work” is not yet finished – the prisoner expresses a desire for revenge after the death of a loved one, friend or even cellmate. This shows that he does not feel vindictive and that only when he fulfills this goal will he be able to “fill his tear” and sleep peacefully… in his cell.
Many rappers and celebrities have popularized this prison tattoo to look like tough types and rebels.
Inscription ACAB
This is a British tattoo meaning “All Cops Are Bastards” (“All cops are bastards”).
Clock without hands
A clock without hands symbolizes the time spent in prison. It is suitable for prisoners with life or extremely long sentences. It’s a way of showing that time is frozen and dragging on relentlessly. For prisoners wearing such a tattoo, time has lost value and no longer matters.
This image is usually found on the bodies of life sentences who do not want to count the days behind bars. The clock without hands symbolizes a meaningless and wasted life for those who await execution.
Moreover, a watch tattoo can have different shapes: a pocket watch, a wall clock, or even a watch without a strap.
History and Meaning of Tattoos
Since ancient times, tattoos have been a form of graphic expression, similar to tribal tattoos, which denote belonging to a clan. But they are also body decoration, preferred by millions of people from different regions, cultures and social strata.
In addition to their aesthetic values, tattoos reveal many other aspects, penetrating any environment. They appear on the street and infiltrate prisons; they adorn stars from rap music and sports; They become a means of discrimination or distinction, but they always carry with them the smell of sulfur, rebellion and nonconformism.
And if today tattooing is something ordinary, then in the beginning it was the practice of minorities, the marginalized and even fans of metal or punk. But in the prison environment, tattoos take on a completely different meaning.
What do these tattoos mean?
Indeed, among prisoners, some tattoos have a strictly defined meaning. They may express belonging to a particular group or simply denote a personal identity, but they can also represent a kind of “summary” of the prisoner – for those who know how to read them. They reveal information such as the number of years in prison or his criminal past, and therefore serve as true identifiers.
As Jérôme Pierre, author of the prison tattoo book Bad Boys, co-written with Eric Guyon, noted in an interview with Mediapart:
“At first glance, these tattoos may look like ordinary decorative signs. But in the eyes of the initiated, they are a real identity card.”
