Murderer Live Streams From Prison To Promote GoFundMe Account
A convicted murderer serving a life sentence was caught live streaming from his Alabama jail cell in an effort to promote his GoFundMe and PayPal accounts, and the victim’s family is outraged.
Using the alias Premo Williamson, 26-year-old Devin Williamson went online and created several social media accounts that he used to ask people for money to buy food and more data.
He’s serving a life sentence in prison for shooting and killing 25-year-old Jervarin Mushat on Christmas Day 2011, but that didn’t stop him gaining some 3,000 followers online in just a few days.
Chiquita Mushat, the victim’s sister, told WSFA News the killer’s live streamed attempt to ask for money shocked and sickened her.
“He killed my brother in front of me, his children, my momma, my grandmomma and the rest of my family. That was there, and he did it on Christmas Day. Don’t nobody need to be supporting a murderer.”
Using his assumed name, Williamson created several accounts including Periscope, Facebook, GoFundMe, and PayPal to ask the public for money. Those pages were shut down after authorities contacted the respective social media providers.
Chiquita said watching the online videos forced her to relive her brother’s murder all over again and she didn’t understand why people would donate to a killer, according to WSFA News.
“This ain’t comfortable for me to be sitting here watching him like he is having fun. It ain’t no fun when your family is dead.”
Williamson was charged with illegal possession of a cell phone and unlawful participation in social media for his live-streaming attempts and was immediately transferred to a higher security facility after he was caught, according to Alabama Media.
I just followed a prison inmate on periscope..since when do inmates get cell phones?? #SMH
— ????? ???E (@MusicLoveRobot) January 18, 2016
In the video, however, other inmates can clearly be seen with cell phones of their own and that concerns Chiquita who said she hoped her brother’s killer would be paying for his crime in jail.
“I bet he is going to stay off of it today because if I ever see him on any type of media again I’m going to do this again and again. I’m going to call Department of Corrections and let them know you need to tighten down on them because he don’t need to be down there having that kind of fun because this still ain’t no fun.”
The Department of Corrections in Alabama opened an investigation into which other inmates might also have cell phones, but so far none have been found. The department regularly conducts unannounced inspections of inmate’s cell and belongings and also uses dogs to sniff out cellphones belonging to inmates.
Convicted murderer live streams from prison via #Periscope: https://t.co/C58vWxlCZ6 pic.twitter.com/l8NIvg5c2D
— WLOX (@WLOX) January 21, 2016
Cell phones in prison are a serious problem as they allow inmates to continue illegal operations even though they’re behind bars. They can be smuggled in or tossed over a fence and are used to plan additional crimes or promote violence, both inside and outside the jail. Correctional officers who agree to smuggle the cell phones into prison can earn hundreds of dollars.
Commissioner Jeff Dunn has asked the Alabama legislature for $4 million to build jamming equipment that would prevent cell phone signals from getting out, according to Correctional News.
The equipment would allow verified cell phone calls to make it through to the prison while blocking unapproved devices.
Would you donate to a convicted criminal’s fundraising account?
[AP Photo/Ben Margot]
