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As a member of the Campus Coalition for Peace and Justice who has been closely watching the Gammage case for over a year now, I'm quite disappointed with your recent coverage. You appeared to be taking the defense's side on Oct. 24 when your headline insinuated that Jonny Gammage picked fights with police and the article implied that he was prone to violence. It sounds like you lifted this straight from John Vojtas' lawyers who are using this argument in his defense. By doing this, you are contributing to racist stereotypes that many people have about African-Americans. You buried Mr. Seals' refutation of the suspect claims in the back of the article where many people don't even read.
Then, in your front-page article on Oct. 29, you again serve as a mouthpiece for the defense, repeating their depiction of our rally for justice for Jonny Gammage as a "mob". Did Jan Ackerman even bother to talk with the Post-Gazette reporter there? Doesn't she realize that it's not only the right but the responsibility of citizens to speak out publically when they perceive injustice? Doesn't the Post-Gazette want to at least appear to be neutral and unbiased?
Pete Shell
Squirrel Hill
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