NAACP: Posting arrestees' names on Internet 'another nail in the coffin '

Posting the names of people arrested in Allegheny County online is an attack on "the presumption of innocence" and will damage the image of black people in the region, the head of the local NAACP said Wednesday. "This is just another nail in the coffin," said Tim Stevens, president of the Pittsburgh Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. announced last week that he plans to place the names of those charged with crimes in the county online. "We want you to know who is entering the criminal justice system," Zappala said. Stevens said the legal system in Allegheny County already is slanted against black people. He said a lack of black judges, police officers and attorneys creates an environment in which the rights of black people are compromised. He said placing the names of those arrested online before they are proven guilty will permanently damage the reputations of members of the black community who already struggle to obtain good jobs. [more]