I am asked a lot of times why I do this? Why do I wake up every morning and spend my time running Baltimore Witness, finding ways to keep us afloat, talking about homicides, shootings and other violent crimes? Why don’t I just retire?
Here’s why. Because when we started in 2021, the only place to get information about what was happening in Baltimore criminal justice was Marilyn Mosby, who had become so unpopular that everybody believed she was making up her data.
When I asked why nobody else was collecting any data and tracking cases, I was told “that is just the way it is.” I tend not to find that a persuasive argument. So, I started Baltimore Witness. Baltimore Witness tracks every homicide and non-fatal shooting case at every step, telling the stories and gathering data nobody else cared to collect. Five years later, data is everywhere, a cultural sea-change in our city. But the question remains – is it accurate?
While there is more data than ever, that data is incomplete, unreliable and untimely. The result: our criminal justice system is as opaque as when we arrived. I am still at it because our work is not done.
I also do this for my amazing staff whose energy, hope and idealism remind me of when I was starting out in journalism. I do this for our hungry interns who sit in courtrooms gathering the facts and data, getting the experience they can’t elsewhere. I do this for the families of the victims, and the families of the accused who stop our folks in courtrooms virtually every day to thank us.
It’s a really fast way not to make money, so once a year I ask you, our readers and supporters, for help by donating to our end-of-year, tax-deductible, fundraising campaign. If you feel what we do benefits our city and agree “that’s just the way it is” isn’t good enough, please donate whatever you can.
Happy holidays,
Amos Gelb
Publisher
