WILLIE LLOYD
Rap Sheet
Reign: 1970s-90s
Business: gangs
Region: Chicago
Claim to Fame: leader of the Vice Lords
Downfall: convicted of killing an officer
Sentence: 25 years
Status: paralyzed from a gun shot
Lesson: The bigger they are. The harder they fall.
Case File
Loyd grew up in the Lawndale, on Chicago’s west side, a stronghold of the Vice Lords – the city’s oldest and largest active gang, along with the Gangster Disciples. He came to prominence in the late ’60s and was known for his ruthless demeanor and willingness to back it up. He was sent to prison in 1971 for the murder of an Iowa police officer. There, his influence grew enormously. He was ordained the Lords “official spokesman” and eventually grew to become its “king of kings” over the several Vice Lords divisions. After his release from prison in the early ’90s, Loyd took over operations on the streets again – until he went back to prison on weapons charges.
In prison, he experienced an epiphany about gang life and its consequences. Released in 2001, he publicly retired from the gang he’d led for decades and embarked on a crusade to turn kids away from the life – forming an organization called The Cease Fire Project and even lecturing at DePaul and other prestigious universities. Then, in 2003, Loyd was shot on the street by gang members unhappy with his turnaround. The assassination attempt left him paralyzed from the neck down. Undeterred, he counseled loyalists not to exact revenge, and he remains an articulate spokesman for Cease Fire and related anti-gang efforts.
Rap Sheet
Reign: 1970s-90s
Business: gangs
Region: Chicago
Claim to Fame: leader of the Vice Lords
Downfall: convicted of killing an officer
Sentence: 25 years
Status: paralyzed from a gun shot
Lesson: The bigger they are. The harder they fall.
Case File
Loyd grew up in the Lawndale, on Chicago’s west side, a stronghold of the Vice Lords – the city’s oldest and largest active gang, along with the Gangster Disciples. He came to prominence in the late ’60s and was known for his ruthless demeanor and willingness to back it up. He was sent to prison in 1971 for the murder of an Iowa police officer. There, his influence grew enormously. He was ordained the Lords “official spokesman” and eventually grew to become its “king of kings” over the several Vice Lords divisions. After his release from prison in the early ’90s, Loyd took over operations on the streets again – until he went back to prison on weapons charges.
In prison, he experienced an epiphany about gang life and its consequences. Released in 2001, he publicly retired from the gang he’d led for decades and embarked on a crusade to turn kids away from the life – forming an organization called The Cease Fire Project and even lecturing at DePaul and other prestigious universities. Then, in 2003, Loyd was shot on the street by gang members unhappy with his turnaround. The assassination attempt left him paralyzed from the neck down. Undeterred, he counseled loyalists not to exact revenge, and he remains an articulate spokesman for Cease Fire and related anti-gang efforts.
