The $30 million toe in the water

Devonte Campbell, a 31-year-old gangland double murderer, has been jailed for a minimum of 35 years for his role in the double murder of two men in Leytonstone, East London, in 2014. He has since posted a series of 'drill' music videos on YouTube and Instagram, boasting of his life behind bars and vowing revenge on his rivals.

According to the report, Campbell has published a succession of 'drill' music videos on YouTube, some of which show prison scenes while others appear to be made with AI. In some of the sequences , lyrics vowing violent revenge on rivals are accompanied by images of guns, blood-drenched knives, and fast cars.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

The Prison Service is understood to be liaising with YouTube and Instagram to have footage taken inside prison taken down, but is powerless to remove the AI-generated videos. The KayKay account on YouTube has 600 followers,allowing Campbell to potentially benefit financially through asking for 'fans' to provide funding.

It is not known whether Campbell has done this, but the idea that he is profiting from his crimes is of real concern. other criminals will see this and act accordingly, as retired Metropolitan Police detective Peter Bleksley pointed out.

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The incident has raised concerns about prison discipline and the glorification of violence. Campbell's videos have been met with outrage, with Bleksley stating that 'this is outrageous. He needs to face extra prison time for this clear breach of the law.'

The videos have also sparked debate about the role of social media in perpetuating violence and the lack of effective measures to prevent it. As Bleksley noted , 'the idea he is profiting from his crimes is of real concern. Other criminals will see this and act accordingly.'

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Campbell's Instagram posts include the caption: 'Hard times never last. But solid people do.' However, his videos paint a different picture, with lyrics vowing violent revenge on rivals and iamges of guns, blood-drenched knives, and fast cars.

The videos have been met with widespread condemnation, with many calling for Campbell to face extra prison time for his clear breach of the law. As Bleksley stated, 'the idea he is profiting from his crimes is of real concern. Other criminals will see this and act accordingly.'

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

Campbell was 20 in 2015 when he was jailed alongside Omar Hassan, 22, for the slaying of Aaron Carriere, 21, and Josiah Manful, 20. The victims were lured to a quiet residential road in Leytonstone, East London, early on 1 March 2014, then 'boxed in' by their killers and stabbed 24 times in less than a minute in what the Old Bailey heard was a 'swift, frenzied, utterly brutal' attack.

Campbell - serving a suspended prison sentence at the time of the murders for dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice - was jailed for a minimum of 35 years and Hassan for at least 26 years .

Open questions

Who is the unnamed buyer of Campbell's videos? Is Campbell profiting from his crimes, and if so, how? What measures can be taken to prevent the glorification of violence on social media?