6th-Grader Shows the Way: Apologies of the Week

A kid's sincere mea culpa and a newspaper's embarrassed one were among the public apologies making headlines this week:

• An apology done right: “I am writing an apology letter for what I did last night. ... I know there will be consequences, and I will not complain about them. I am sorry for what I did and I hope you can forgive me.”—Unnamed sixth-grader, in an apology note to police dispatchers in Georgia after making a crank 911 call about "deez nuts." Impressed police posted the letter under "Apology Accepted."
• A little too far: "The Daily Item apologizes for our failure to catch and remove the inappropriate paragraphs in the letter directed at President Obama. We will strive to do better in the future."—Editorial at the Pennsylvania newspaper, after printing a letter advocating the execution of Obama.

• Chief's regret: "I'm apologizing that we didn't have a chance to do enough training."—Anthony Batts, Baltimore police commissioner, in a message to the city's officers over the Freddie Gray unrest. Batts said he knew trouble was coming but didn't prepare officers properly.
• Unsportsmanlike: "I'm so sorry about my insensitive post earlier today. I didn't fully understand how many people are struggling in Houston right now and I feel horrible."—Colin Kaepernick, 49ers quarterback, in a tweet, after making light of the deadly Texas floods.
• Shaky judgment: "I apologize to inconvenience all those people."—Israel Shimeles of Alexandria, Va., after he caused a major scare ahead of a Memorial Day concert in DC by leaving a pressure cooker in his parked car.

(More apology stories.)