Unbelievable! So he (his lawyer really) pleads not guilty in abduction now! And what would he argue now - that the poor girl invited herself to the car??? If he is found guilty in abduction after all, I would use maximum sentence for him. This is for abusing the legal system and having no guts in taking responsibility for own's own actions.

Another OJ Simpson case?

The squeaky wheels of the legal system grind relentlessy on, enabling lawyers to make themselves famous and the guilty to become superstars. Not only do we have the local issue of the Burpee case, but in a similar style, Mark Geragos getting involved in the Tiger mauling case to enable the legal system to become the latest soap operas.

And, because of the Hollywood writers strike, we don't have any soap operas and reality has to fill the void.

Does Burpee have a public defender (to which he is entitled if he can't afford a lawyer) or a private attorney? If the latter, how is he going to pay for this - or is it 'free'?

Not guilty by the reason of what - insanity? Is this guy going to say that he was distressed/mad/angry and insane amongst other things since he had a fight with his girlfriend?

A not guilty plea under the circumstances should be treated as any other lie under oath.
I know the law requires such a plea, but the law is an ass.

If he does not change his plea before trial then he should get a real life sentence in the toughest prison, among the toughest inmates in the state.

That will be essentially a death sentence


Neither the victim nor the community should have to relive the trauma.

He has already admitted that he did it when he was arrested!

you dont kill someone for that! america has gone fascist insane...

How much is a woman's violation worth in your enlightened society, Bucky?

This was violent child rape! For that alone the sentence should be death.
What we need from our press is some in-depth reporting on the lifelong emotional and even physical damage to the victims of such trauma. Describe the years of medical costs, the damage to relationships, the lost productivity and wages, the resultant defensive and/or self destructive behaviors and the overall cost to society from this heinous crime.
Dare to tell the untold story.

Not guilty?? That's an abuse of the system. Maybe wants to get off on a technicality.

"The squeaky wheels of the legal system grind relentlessy on"...

Ummmm. As I remember, there is a saying~ the squeeky wheel GETS THE GREASE....Good luck to him when he goes to prison...

Um, wait: he has admitted everything but all of a sudden he's saying he's not guilty? [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

You guys are a bunch of hypocrites once it involves an African American youth you want the death penalty. Maybe you should think of why someone did it before you sentence this man to death because we know how tolerant you are to white suspect racists......

sebastian -

I agree, although I'm not sure race has anything to do with it. In this country, by law, a person is innocent until proven guilty.

This discussion (about a legal plea) is a legal one (not a moral one)and the proper plea is innocent.

Unless these people believe the law is irrelevant (and I have to admit, many people do seem to believe that in Palo Alto), they are indeed full of it.

The fact of the matter is the residents of Palo Alto want this man to be sentenced to the maximum penalty,simply because he is seen as an intolerable nigger mucking up what the good people of Palo Alto have created its called legal lynching.......