The Streets Of San Francisco
Innocent No More(First aired: 1976)
A gang of criminal youths pulls a series of robberies. During one of them an old lady dies of an heart attack. Two of the boys are caught fleeing the scene. One of them is Billy Clark (Mark Hamill), son of a rich builder. Lieutenant Stone (Karl Malden), is angry that these youth gang crimes are going unpunished by the Juvenile Court System, and growing more violent. So he decided to attempt to catch and try the entire gang as adults while the attorney of the Wilson's family is optimistic about getting Billy free as soon as possible.
The story focused on one of boys - Billy. He's an 16 year old innocent looking boy. The investigations provide a totally different picture of him: a life of violence against his classmates at school. Stone allows bail for Billy while the other boy has to stay in prison, hoping Billy would lead the police unwillingly to the hideout of the rest of the gang to get them all - which he does. The captured youths, including Billy, are then prosecuted as adults for their crimes. The string of Billy's guitar finally breaks his neck even though his mother tried to protect him. And the husband of the killed old lady has to realise that he can't violence fight with violence because he tried to shoot Billy.
TV Guide summarises this episode as: "Stone (Karl Malden) pushes to get teenage gang members - who have made a mockery of the juvenile court - tried as adults."
It's hard to recognise Billy in the opening scene of the robbery because all of the boys are wearing masks. And it's even more difficult to believe that he's one of the gang. You see him as the neat and nice boy with that absolutely innocent look while talking politely with the policemen.
