Behind the wall and on the 'Net: Jailed thugs look for love in cyberspace
By Michele McPhee
Monday, April 25, 2005 - Updated: Apr. 26, 2005 03:08 AM EST
He killed his criminal cohort during a gunbattle with cops while robbing a crowded McDonald's in New Bedford.
He kidnapped two female hostages, telling one, ``Hey, pregnant lady, you're coming with me,'' holding the women in headlocks as he fired bullets over their heads at police, yelling: ``If anybody shoots, I'll kill them.''
The notorious 1998 robbery earned Kevin Jackmon, 37, a life sentence at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley.
But even behind bars, Jackmon has allegedly managed to terrorize people, stalking and harassing a woman who responded to a personal ad he posted on a ``Friends Behind the Wall,'' one of the dozens of Web sites trying to match lonely hearts with convicted killers.
Jackmon is currently under investigation by the Department of Correction Intelligence unit, several sources told the Herald. His ad, where the 5-foot 10-inch, 225-pound ``diamond in the rough'' tells women that he is an ``avid book reader, chess player, and weightlifter'' has been pulled from the Internet.
This week, a law enforcement source forwarded Jackmon's ad - now part of the DOC investigation - to the Herald.
``It is despicable. How are these killers getting access to the Internet?'' that source said. ``There are not even enough computers in the schools.''
Last week, Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin insisted that prisoners do not have access to the Internet and that the dozens of ads from Massachusetts convicts are being posted by people outside the prisons.
``Someone on the street could be managing these sites for them,'' Wiffin said. ``The DOC investigation unit is working closely with other law enforcement agencies to ensure the development, analysis, and follow-up of intelligence information on these Web sites.''
Wiffin refused to comment on Jackmon and the new charges he is facing for allegedly harassing his pen pal.
The DOC also could not answer how Daniel Tavares, 38, who wrote on his www.inmate.com personal ad that he is under 23-hour lockdown at Walpole state prison, accused of making ``cuff keys out of ear jacks,'' could contact someone to manage his site.
[continue] | | 
Kevin Jackmon is currently serving a life sentence at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley. (Herald file) |
| Herald Columnists | It's a Hall of a setback
By Steve Buckley
Now that Curt Schilling's troublesome foot has landed him on the disabled list, Red Sox fans are lef... [more] |
|
|
