The Daily Signal - #431: He Killed a Man. Then This Gangster Changed His Life.

Episode Date: April 2, 2019

At 16, Casey Diaz went to prison for killing a man. The son of an alcoholic father, Diaz grew up in a rough neighborhood and first saw three men killed when he was eight. By the time he was 11, he joined a gang. But after years in prison, Diaz had a religious conversion—and inspired others to change their lives as well, including one of the founders of MS-13. We also cover these stories:•President Trump is now saying health care will have to wait until after the next election.•House Republicans want to protect babies born alive after abortion--and on Tuesday, they launched a discharge petition effort•Democrat senators introduced new legislation to expand government-controlled health care options.The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Wednesday, April 3rd. I'm Kate Trinco. And I'm Daniel Davis. Casey Diaz was once a person you wouldn't want to meet. He lived as a gangbanger during his teenage years. But everything changed when he got arrested. He went to prison where he found God and began a new life. Today he'll join us in studio to share his story.

And if you're enjoying this podcast, please consider leaving a review or a five-star rating on iTunes and please subscribe. Now, on to our top news. Well, until recently, President Trump was full speed ahead on pushing forward a Republican health care proposal, but on Monday he backed off, saying any health care proposal will have to wait until after the 2020 election. He tweeted, quote, the Republicans are developing a really great health care plan with far lower premiums, cost, and deductibles than Obamacare. In other words, it will be far less expensive and much more usable than Obamacare. vote will be taken right after the election when Republicans hold the Senate and win back the House. It will be truly great health care that will work for America, end quote.

Well, hitting the pause button on health care allows the president to wait for an Obamacare legal challenge to make its way through the courts. That law was ruled unconstitutional back in December by a federal judge in Texas. 17 states have now appealed the ruling. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White House economists were beginning to look into. what it would mean for the country if the border with Mexico was closed, per the hill, which also reported Sanders denied there was any particular timeline for the possible border closing. Here's what else Sanders said about the border via CBS. Look, Democrats are leaving us absolutely no choice at this point. We've already had to move

roughly 750 personnel from ports of entry at this point, and it looks like we're going to have to move more, which will force those lines to go longer to cross the border. And eventually, it may be that it's the best decision that we close the border. Certainly, we don't want to see, this isn't our first choice. Our first choice would be for Democrats to actually sit down with us and help fix a broken system to address the national security and humanitarian crisis that exists at our border. We're at a breaking point. And they have left the president absolutely no choice. Well, Democrats don't seem ready to bail on Joe Biden, but they're definitely putting out some warning signals. Biden, who hasn't yet declared a run for president, has recently been accused

by two women of unwanted touching, though not overtly sexual in nature. He says he never acted inappropriately, but that he's listening respectfully. But in light of the recent Me Too controversies, it's causing some to ask where the line is and whether or not he's disqualified. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says he's not disqualified for president. In a Politico interview Tuesday, she said, quote, he has to understand in the world that we're in now that people's space is important to them, and what's important is how they receive it and not necessarily how you intended it, end quote. Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin sounded a similar note telling Politico, there's a failure to understand how one's actions impact others. And Hawaii, Senator

Maisie Hirono also told Politico, quote, the focus isn't on what his intention. were. It is how his behavior is experienced and one should not invade personal space. He needs to be a lot more aware of that. I would say with Trump, it's many, many degrees of worseness if there is such a word, end quote. House Republicans want to protect babies born alive after abortion, and on Tuesday they launched a discharge petition effort. If they get enough signatures, they could force a vote on the House floor, even without House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's permission. Here's a video House Republicans made featuring Whip Steve Scalise, House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, and Representatives, Ann Wagner, and Liz Janie. It shouldn't even be a debate.

Allowing a baby who was born alive during an attempted abortion to be killed outside the womb should be illegal in every single state in America. I have a bill that would do just that, and the horrifying practice of infanticide. This shouldn't be partisan. We are using every legislative tool at our disposal to end infanticide and get these children the medical care they deserve. Day after day, Republicans have asked for an up or down vote more than 20 times now, and every single time, Democrats have blocked it. Enough is enough. It's amazing to me as a mom, as a member of this House of Representatives, that we even have to

have this argument and have to have this debate. Here's the bottom line. You deserve to know where your member of Congress stands on infanticide. aside. That's why I filed a discharge petition, a procedural tool that with 218 signatures from members of Congress will force Nancy Pelosi to finally schedule a vote and make everyone go on record to tell the American people whether or not they support this barbaric practice. The president on Monday unleashed on Puerto Rican officials after two separate disaster spending bills failed to pass the Senate. Republicans and Democrats each had their own bill and each blocked

the others bill. Democrats wanted to release funds already appropriated for disaster recovery in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, but Republicans objected, saying Puerto Rico had already received more money than other states, and that officials there hadn't spent the money wisely. The president tweeted, The people of Puerto Rico are great, but the politicians are incompetent and corrupt. Puerto Rico got far more money than Texas and Florida combined, yet their government can't do anything right. The place is a mess. Nothing works.

FEMA and the military worked emergency miracles, but politicians like the crazed and incompetent mayor of San Juan have done such a poor job of bringing the island back to health. Democrat senators, including senators Tim Kane of Virginia and Michael Bennett of Colorado, have introduced new legislation to expand government-controlled health care options. The Medicare-X proposal would allow people in counties with few insurance, options in the Obamacare exchanges to choose to use Medicare instead, even if they're too young, and eventually would be available to all areas. It also would increase funding for government-controlled

health care, adding subsidies for those who make more than 400% of the federal poverty level and who are currently not eligible for subsidies. The chairman of the North Carolina GOP and a major donor have been indicted on federal bribery and fraud charges in a case that was unsealed Tuesday. Chairman Robin Hayes and Greg Lindberg, the founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC, and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group, were two of the four individuals listed in the indictments. They're accused of trying to persuade an insurance regulator to make decisions in favor of the donor's insurance companies. Federal prosecutors say the four individuals promised or gave millions of dollars to Republican Insurance Commissioner

at Mike Kauzy to get him to do things that Lindbergh wanted. Hayes, that state GOP chairman, served in Congress from 1999 to 2000. Next up, we'll speak to Casey Diaz, who joined a gang in the L.A. area when he was younger, and then, in prison, found a different path. Do you own an Alexa? You can now get the Daily Signal podcast every day as part of your daily flash briefing. It's easy to do. Just open up your Alexa app, go to settings, and select Flash Briefing.

From there, you can search for the Daily Signal podcast and add it to your flash briefing so you can stay up to date with the top news of the day that the liberal media isn't covering. We're joined today by Casey Diaz, the author of the new book, The Shot Collar, A Latino Gang Bangers Miraculous Escape from a Life of Violence to a New Life in Christ. Casey, let's start from the beginning. Can you tell us about growing up and how you ended up joining a gang when you were 11? So I was brought here by my parents when I was two years old. Our family comes from El Salvador, and they came in here legally. But unfortunately, we landed in an area which is called the Rampart District of Los Angeles. And someone you might know with reference to the rampart scandal that made the news. So that's the area I grew up in.

And my mom was a seamstress. So she would get up early in the morning, four in the morning. and go out to work. And I wouldn't get to see her until about 10, 11 o'clock at night. And my father, on the other hand, was very just alcoholic, abusive, physically and vocally or verbally. And so here comes my mom from, you know, pulling two shifts to getting attacked physically by my father. So violence started very early in my house in our apartment. And then at the age of eight, I witnessed a triple murder right before my eyes.

In L.A., in these older buildings, they have fire escapes. Kind of like the ones in New York. And I would go outside. We lived on the third floor. And I'd kind of sit there and dangle my feet from the fire escape. And that was kind of like my routine as a kid. And on this particular day, it was broad daylight. And the car pulled to the side.

three males were walking up an alley, and the guy driving simply gets out of his car, doesn't run, doesn't scream anything, just walks up to these three guys and puts bullets in each and every single one of them. And then once he's done with the bullets, he reloads. So he takes out the, you know, takes out the shells, and then reloads and finishes his execution of three guys in that alley.

So I was there watching the whole thing. And so you got violence in, in the apartment and then you got violence outside. So what happened right after you saw? I mean, I can't even imagine being aid in seeing this. Did you go inside? Did you cry? I didn't.

And that was a surprising thing. I remember I just, I kind of looked at, you know, I remember seeing one of them yell. He was actually yelling for his mother. And he was holding his abdomen and he was under a carport. He kind of struggled his way to try to get away.

but he fell a few steps under a carport. So there they are. And, you know, you kind of get desensitized in the way because you're just seeing brutality. And as a kid, you kind of look at that incident and what's going on in the home. And you go, well, I guess this is how you handle matters when somebody steps over you. And so that's, you know, and then at 11, I got introduced to this. local gang. And I found a gang leader that just took me under his wing,

a very popular guy. And he was very violent himself. So I got introduced to the gang, jumped into the gang, and then normally what happens is you end up giving an assignment. And that would mean it could be anything from a robbery to, you know, up to a murder, to anything. And because I was with him, he took me to an area of where rival gang members were at, specifically to 18th Street,

and where we captured one of them. We beat him, and he did most of the work, and he stabbed him. He stabbed them, and then when he was finished stabbing him, he kind of just gave me the screwdriver and said, no, it's your turn. And so my first stabbing was at 11 years old as well. Wow. So five years you were in a gang from 11 to 16. So what was it like during those later years?

What kind of stuff were you involved in? Many robberies, you know, break ends of homes. But more than anything else, it was just the violence was what drove me. You know, I explained my story. In many ways, there's different ranking within every gang, especially the ones that are organized. You have the guys that are just kind of, you know, drinking beer at a liquor store. They're harmful, but they're not doing really anything. They like to play the part more than anything else.

They like the parties. And then you have the gang leaders or the potential gang leaders that are out there and what we call putting in work. And that meant going out there and looking for rivals. So for me, it was very easy. It became very easy at that age to, you know, my preference was the violence. So I went out there and always looked for rival gang members. Yeah, so mostly against other gangs?

Yeah, mostly against other gangs, you know, throughout Los Angeles. And, yeah, it just became a pattern to the point where I really couldn't sleep unless I went out there and did something. And I didn't like the drive-by shooting thing. Unfortunately, I was more of a hands-on guy. And so stabbing was what I preferred to do with these guys. And so what besides the violence do you think attracted you to life within the gang? What did you enjoy? It gave me a false sense of family, of belonging, of being respected, of being validated by them.

And, you know, not having a father figure or a mentor at that young age, the streets has a habit of embracing you very quickly in that, in those times of, you know, where you need to be told. you know, what's a good direction to take. So unfortunately, I ended up in this kind of lifestyle. So you were 16 when you were arrested. Tell us how that happened. In this particular day, you know, back in the 80s, you were able to drive trucks and you were able to hang out in the back of the truck. No seat belts were required or anything like that.

It was not against the law. Wild time. Yeah. It was a wild time. man. I happened to be at a little burger joint when I was, some members of the 18th Street gang came by that recognized me, and a fight ensued inside the little burger joint. And I ran to the vehicle that I was outside,

and unfortunately I ended up killing the guy that was the first guy that approached me. So were police on the scene? Did they arrest you then? No, I was a fugitive for 21 days. days after that. So I ended up living in abandoned apartment buildings, construction sites. One of the moms from one of my gang members, she took me in for a few days. And I was just trying to keep a low profile. I kind of disappeared for a minute. And then I got captured by the Los Angeles Police crash unit. That's their gang special unit. And was the guy whose life you took, was he a gang member of a rival gang, or what did you have? He was one

one of the leaders of 18th Street at that time from a click called Columbia, which that was the headquarters of 18th Street in Los Angeles. And that was a rival gang to yours? Well, so. I'm not very familiar with the gang world, so. That's good. 18th Street was a gang that we used to get along with. We had, you know, fathers, sisters, brothers that were in the same gang, you know.

And I never liked them. So I was the one that called a shot to go against them. And I didn't like them. I didn't like how they did business out there. And I'm young, but violence was just, you know, my thing. And so I was the one that made that decision to go against them and to take over their territory in which we ended up doing eventually. And it made big news because a lot of us from my gang, unfortunately, again,

And it was a lot of a spilling of blood throughout the streets of L.A. So what was your trial like and how did you feel when you heard your sentence? I didn't really care. I mean, there was no, you know, that's what's expected of you. That's what, you know, you really don't, I don't know of a gang member that journals and, you know, says, maybe I shouldn't be doing this. No, we all had the mentality and everybody was trying to updo the other person. So every gang leader in these gangs were just trying to, you know, if you're going to do, you know, three murders, we're going to do four type of deal.

And then the bloodshed and in Los Angeles in the 80s, I mean, you see the reports from back then. And it was vicious. It was a lot of violence. So what was prison like for you? I believe you said you were in solitary confinement? Yeah. So I ended up, CDC has this point system from one to 100. and so the higher you score,

the more security level that is needed for you. And at that time, I don't know how they do it now, but at that time, the higher you scored, more security. So I ended up going over there with 97 points, which meant going into the shoe program from the bus to the shoe, no questions asked, and to serve an undetermined sentence, meaning I have to finish my whole sentence in solitary.

So, you know, I was prepared for that. I didn't care. I was just, you know, my first meal in New Folsom was served by the Hillside Strangler. So these are the guys that, you know, that we heard in the news and I live with the menendez brothers, one of those guys from that bunch of. The ones who killed their parents. Yeah. He was there in the A yard.

So, you know, you're surrounded by nothing but like-minded people, you know. And so you really don't care about your actions. You really don't. And it was on my third year of solitary confinement where a little church from this little Baptist church came. And a little lady, a little black lady, by the name of Francis Proctor, she was very, very bold and requested to approach myself.

And you got to understand that in the shoe, you know, you got Pelican Bay, you have the Corcoran Shoe, which made the news big time, and you have New Folsom. Those are the three major prisons to go to in California. If there's any influence in you, this would be like your Harvard, Yale, and Penn State, you know, in the street world. And so here we are, and here's this lady coming into one of the most darkest places in the prison. and she is so bold with this correctional officer and who, by the way, the CEO is telling her,

you really don't want nothing to do with them, you know? And I didn't know that they were talking about me. Until the very last approach with her is, you know, you know, Jesus came for everybody. Can I have permission to approach to sell? And she was granted the permission to do that. And the guard said, that's Diaz in there. You're wasting your time.

that's when I knew that it was me. And she approached. And she asked me a very, you know, vibrant question. She said, how are you doing? And she had a very, you know, southern accent. How are you doing? It was just being her. And I said, couldn't be any better.

And she said, that's a pretty stupid question. I said, that's right. And she invited me to this Bible study thing to listen to this Bible study. And I told her, I was very respectful. And I just said, you know, I'm not in a very special. interested. Thank you, but no, thank you. And she said something after that that was very, that caught my attention. She said, I'm going to put you on my hit list. You know, that's, that's a word that you might not want to use in solitary confinement. And she says, I'm going to

pray for you. You're going to be on my prayer hit list. And Jesus is going to use you. And I thought, you know, at first glance at that answer at that, you know, at that statement. I thought this lady's crazy. She doesn't know what she's talking about. She doesn't know where she's at. And then she asked for my permission if she could, you know, they came once a month, if she could approach myself and just say hi to me and pray for me. I said, you know, you can do whatever you want.

I'm just letting you know that I'm not joining your Bible study. And so this continued for over a year and a few months where she was just consistent to stop at myself. and she would always end the conversation with, I'm praying for you, and Jesus is going to use you. And I had an experience in that cell that challenged me in my life to change. And it was very real, very raw. And I had a moment, an encounter with Christ in there, in which I had to make a decision whether I would continue in this organized crime life,

you know, life of crime, or I was going to make that change. And I knew that what I had experienced in that cell and that 8x10 cell was authentic. It was real. It brought me to my knees. I had never heard the gospel. I had never opened a Bible. I never went to church. That was the church or Christ or anybody like that.

It just wasn't in my radar. And so I'm finding myself in the middle of this cell and weeping like a kid, you know, and saying to God, and, you know, this is going to sound a little odd, but, you know, I think that when you come to the Lord, you need to just be you. And for me, it was that. And I remember being very just open with him and saying, you know, God, I'm so sorry for stabbing this person. And I'm so sorry for stabbing that person. And it just went on and on and on.

And, you know, I say this to folks when I'm sharing my story is, I have never tasted free like I tasted freedom in solitary confinement that moment because it changed my life. And then I got some instructions a few days later where I needed to make a decision to step down for my leadership there in which I did. I knew that by doing that. Your leadership in the gang? Yeah. By doing that, it would cause a green light, meaning a hit would be put on your life. And so a hit was put on my life.

and then for the next two years. It was a little rough. We have this phrase that we use in California in the prison system. It's called Heart Candy. And that just simply means we're going to beat you close to your death every time we get a chance to. And that happened to me and to others like me for the next two years. But the guy that came to do the hit, he became the first guy that I led to Christ. in there.

And then he joined me. And so now there's two of us with Heart Candy, you know, and then two other guys. One of the founding members of MS-13 came to Christ through my testimony. And so very shortly, very short time, you have a guy from Florence 13, which had big heavy ties to the Mexican Mafia. And you had a guy from Watts, a gang leader from there.

And so here you are like four or five of them. us and we're willing to lay down our life for the gospel and it didn't matter. We knew that God had touched our hearts. And so for you and these others, you mentioned that the Baptist lady had asked you to join Bible study and you weren't interested. Before you had your conversion experience, did you know, open a Bible? Did you have any familiarity or was this, you just sort of unprompted went to God? And how about for the other men you led to conversion? So for me, it was, I had never opened the Bible. I never, you know, just, it wasn't part of my life.

But for them, I knew that we had these things called, we called them kites, or another word for that would be W-I-L-A, and it was just, it's a short term for a note. And usually a kite or a wheeler was something that you would pass to another gang member, like a trustee or through anybody else. And most likely on that kite, it would be the name of a hit. that needed to be done or stuff that need to be done outside the prison walls or within the CDC. So I knew that if I wrote something, you know, my testimony on these notes, and if they took it from me, they would read it because, you know, we have another phrase, and these are all, like, you know,

prison slang words that we use, you know, taking out the trash man, killing somebody and taking them out the yard. And so I knew that they couldn't hang out with somebody that was the trash. You know, but if they took it for me, I was 100% sure they were going to read it. And that's how I was able to reach every single one on when I caught them by themselves. I slipped them the note. And that's how I ended up witnessing to the first four. And they became Christians from that point. What did the notes say?

It was easy. I said, you know, one of the notes, one of the first notes was, look at me and why would I give this power away? Why would I surrender my leadership in this place unless something really happened in that cell? And I didn't know the Bible. These are just words, but I believe that the Holy Spirit was the one that was behind these words

and it was the simplicity of the gospel written just handwriting and giving them to these guys that understood where I was coming from. What are the reason? What did I have to gain from stepping down from a high position like that inside the shoe program? So when they took it, I knew that it would affect their life. And these guys became born again through my testimony there. Wow.

So what's happened with you since you left prison? Tell us about that. Well, it's been over two decades. I've been married. I'm about to celebrate 20 years. with a believing wife, I got three kids, all in private school. I'm a pastor now, and God has blessed my life. I mean, that's such an unusual conversion story, to put it mildly.

How do you think it's shaped your life since, and does it change how you look back at your past? Yeah. I'm, you know, one of the things that makes you, it makes you grateful. It makes you, you know, somebody asks me in another interview, do I feel like I deserve to be out here? My answer will always be no. I know that what I've done, and I know that I've sinned before God.

But I also know that God gives second chances, and I also know that the blood of Christ covers all sin, including what I did. I wish I could rewind time. I wish I would have never done that. I wish I would have never got involved in gangs. Unfortunately, that was my case. And so what do I do with the time and the second chance that God has given me? and the only thing that I can find to do is to educate people,

to be a voice in low-income families, low-income cities, and to tell them that there is still hope. And you could be in my position right now, and Christ is still there with an outstretched arm, ready to save. And if you call on his name, the Bible tells us that we'll be saved, and man, everything that comes after that, you know, I'm just, I'm grateful. And every morning that I wake up, I got these friend's doors in my bedroom,

and I always wake up at 3 in the morning, and I open those curtains, and it's still dark out there. But that's when I wake up, and I look outside, and I can't believe where God has me and what God has me doing in this time in my life. So, you know, the story wasn't told for over, you know, two decades, and it wasn't the right timing. And we look at what's happening here in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Los Angeles, New York, with all the gang activity and all that across America.

I think that the story needed to wait till this time to come out. And, you know, there's a lot of crime books and true crime stories. But I think on our end is we wanted to make sure that it wasn't, we weren't just being raw for the sake of being raw and real. But we wanted to make sure that people, when they feel, finish this book, that they would call on to the Lord and really do a change in their heart by accepting him. You mentioned inner cities and gangs being a growing problem in America.

What would you say to parents who are concerned that their kids might get involved in gangs? I think that I can only recommend what worked for me. And for me, the only person that worked for me was the Lord. So I would say, you know, find yourself a local church, a Bible teaching. church and get your family involved. It's never too late. There's youth ministries that are in these churches that are vital that will be helpful that where young pastors, young youth pastors, have a heart for these kids, and they'll mentor.

They'll, you know, they'll lead them in a right path and or get them into sports. You know, get them. And absolutely if you can, by all means, getting them out of that neighborhood, by all means and then starting over. I think those are so important. You know, I talk about that in the book as well at the end. There's some advice for parents and single parents as well. So, yeah, it's something that's dear to my heart.

And you mentioned, of course, that the issue is newly relevant right now. Of course, President Trump has talked a lot about MS-13, which you've mentioned. There's other gangs. What do you think the U.S. should do? Well, I think I'm in full agreement with what he's doing and what he intends to do with the border and border security.

You definitely, you know, there's so many people in Mexico, Salvador, Guatemala, and, you know, Central America and all that. And I think there's noble people that really want to come here in pursuit of their dream. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think that there's a system in place that they need to respect, and that's come in through the turnstiles, come in the right way, let us check you out. And if it all turns out well, then, you know, by all means, pursue your dream here. This is the only place that gives you the opportunity to build a dream in this place, like no other place. But in these, like, let's say these caravans that are underway right now, I can tell you, and I can tell you from experience that from an 8 by 10 cell,

there is much activity and shots are being called to Mexico, to Guatemala, to Los Salvador, and they are being prepared to come in here by all means. And if that means disguising themselves in these caravans, they will do that. And so I think that it's important that we listen to what the president is doing right now. And if that wall needs to be built or the border be shut immediately, then it needs to do that. The safety of America is at hand, and we need to pay attention to that and not be naive to the dangers of gangs and predators. that want to come here and harm Americans. Well, Casey, you have a powerful story of God's grace,

and thank you for coming in and sharing. Thank you guys so much for having me on your show. Thanks for coming on, and of course your book is called The Shotcaller, if anyone wants to check it out. Do conversations about the Supreme Court leave you scratching your head? Then subscribe to Scotus 101,

a podcast breaking down the cases, personalities, and gossip at the Supreme Court. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal podcast, brought to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. Please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud, and please leave us a review or a five-star rating on iTunes. We'll see you again tomorrow. You've been listening to The Daily Signal podcast, executive produced by Kate Trinko and Daniel Davis, sound design by Michael Gooden, Lauren Evans, and Thalia Rampersad. For more information, visit DailySignal.com.