Posted by Phil, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Dec 19, 2011 at 10:19 am

Yeah, I'm sure he'd love to have the charges dismissed. If convicted, incarcerated for life seems very appropriate. The parents of the 3-month-old would hope for a worse fate no doubt.

Posted by Megan, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Dec 19, 2011 at 6:25 pm

The only thing he should be seeking is forgiveness. Lock him up and throw away the key.

Posted by KD, a resident of Menlo Park, on Dec 20, 2011 at 10:49 am

Insufficient evidence is serious. No matter how awful the crime, a person is absolutely entitled to be PROVED guilty. If this youth committed this act, he has a debt to pay. Life imprisonment is an economic burden, not a way to improve society or reform a wayward child. At 17, I wonder about his family and his friends... He is a child himself. It's tempting to get mad and punish people, but that won't actually make us all safer, or make society more humane, or prevent another young person from accessing a deadly firearm, and so on. I have such immense respect for the judicial system we have evolved in this country, but it's disheartening when it reinforces larger social ills. This is a tragedy all around.