Some of you will remember the story about the boy who was charged with murder at age 11, one of the youngest persons in US history to ever be tried as an adult.
Very good read for those interested....
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Nathaniel Abraham on trial
Nathaniel Abraham Now
Nathaniel Abraham—arrested at the age of 11 and one of the youngest children in the US ever convicted as an adult for murder—was released from state custody on January 18, one day before his 21st birthday. Abraham, who was involved in the accidental shooting death of an 18-year-old youth in Pontiac, Michigan in 1997, was convicted two years later during a trial in which the prosecution and media demonized him as a vicious killer who deserved to be in prison for the rest of his life.
The media used the occasion of Abraham’s release to rekindle its right-wing witch-hunt against the youth and attack the very concept that society has the responsibility to try to rehabilitate, not incarcerate, troubled children. Not only was Abraham 11 years old at the time of the shooting—far too young to form “intent,” according to child development specialists—but he was also mentally impaired, with an IQ of 75 and the functional age of a six- or seven-year-old.
“Is Young Murderer Ready for Freedom?” screamed one headline from an article in the Detroit News, where readers were told that nearly $1 million had been spent on Abraham, clearly implying that money is wasted on rehabilitating a youth who should be locked away in prison.
On January 19 the News followed up with an inflammatory article charging that Abraham was receiving unwarranted assistance from the state with help for housing and education. It continued by publishing a series of letters under the subhead, “Young killer’s release evokes amazement . . . Society pays; kid doesn’t.”
The Oakland Press, for its part, ran the story under this headline: “Cost to rehabilitate Nate—$1 million.” “People are still talking about Nathaniel’s fur coat, hot pink shirt and shoes,” the newspaper wrote. “Even more shocking to some is that the taxpayers might foot the bill for his apartment and college tuition after about $1 million has already been spent to rehabilitate the convicted killer.”
Why the visceral hatred for this young man?
The Nathanial Abraham case came to symbolize the desperate plight of poor children in America’s cities—and just how far state authorities and the media will go to blame them for the tragedies that inevitably result from poverty and official neglect.
What has particularly incensed the right-wing ideologues is the notion that they were thwarted in this high-profile case and that their law-and-order demagogy is increasingly being seen for what it is: a justification for the social inequality that plagues the US.
Abraham and other youth like him require continuous educational, psychological and other assistance. But such a humane approach would be tantamount to treason according to big-business politicians and the media, who aim to pollute public consciousness by criminalizing the poor. For them it would be preferable for the state to spend $50,000 a year keeping Abraham in prison for the rest of his life than provide him with the assistance he needs to be reintegrated into society.
This policy is consistent with the political vitriol Abraham has faced since his case began. In January 1997, the Michigan legislature enacted a new law allowing children of any age to be prosecuted as adults. By the end of that year, 46 states followed suit, allowing children to be tried as adults, with 14 authorizing adult prosecution for certain offenses.
The demands for vindictive punishment—including the “three strikes, you’re out” and other mandatory sentencing guidelines—have swelled the American prison population to the largest in the world, with more than 2 million individuals behind bars.
The Nathaniel Abraham case
Abraham was tried for the shooting death of 18-year-old Ronnie Greene outside a convenience store in the late evening of October 29, 1997. At the time, Nathaniel was nearly 100 yards away, playing with a .22 caliber rifle and firing randomly at trees in an open field a block from his house. One of the shots apparently ricocheted off a tree and hit Ronnie Greene as he was leaving the store at the edge of the field.
These circumstances, when combined with the fact that Nathaniel did not know Ronnie Greene, indicate there was no legitimate basis to prosecute the youth for first-degree murder, which implies premeditation.
Moreover, both Nathaniel and Ronnie Greene were victims of the terrible poverty in Pontiac, a former center of General Motors, which has been ravaged by decades of plant closings and mass layoffs. Nathaniel’s mother, Gloria—a single parent and lab technician—had repeatedly tried to get help for her son but was rebuffed b
Very good read for those interested....
:::
:::
Nathaniel Abraham on trial
Nathaniel Abraham Now
Nathaniel Abraham—arrested at the age of 11 and one of the youngest children in the US ever convicted as an adult for murder—was released from state custody on January 18, one day before his 21st birthday. Abraham, who was involved in the accidental shooting death of an 18-year-old youth in Pontiac, Michigan in 1997, was convicted two years later during a trial in which the prosecution and media demonized him as a vicious killer who deserved to be in prison for the rest of his life.
The media used the occasion of Abraham’s release to rekindle its right-wing witch-hunt against the youth and attack the very concept that society has the responsibility to try to rehabilitate, not incarcerate, troubled children. Not only was Abraham 11 years old at the time of the shooting—far too young to form “intent,” according to child development specialists—but he was also mentally impaired, with an IQ of 75 and the functional age of a six- or seven-year-old.
“Is Young Murderer Ready for Freedom?” screamed one headline from an article in the Detroit News, where readers were told that nearly $1 million had been spent on Abraham, clearly implying that money is wasted on rehabilitating a youth who should be locked away in prison.
On January 19 the News followed up with an inflammatory article charging that Abraham was receiving unwarranted assistance from the state with help for housing and education. It continued by publishing a series of letters under the subhead, “Young killer’s release evokes amazement . . . Society pays; kid doesn’t.”
The Oakland Press, for its part, ran the story under this headline: “Cost to rehabilitate Nate—$1 million.” “People are still talking about Nathaniel’s fur coat, hot pink shirt and shoes,” the newspaper wrote. “Even more shocking to some is that the taxpayers might foot the bill for his apartment and college tuition after about $1 million has already been spent to rehabilitate the convicted killer.”
Why the visceral hatred for this young man?
The Nathanial Abraham case came to symbolize the desperate plight of poor children in America’s cities—and just how far state authorities and the media will go to blame them for the tragedies that inevitably result from poverty and official neglect.
What has particularly incensed the right-wing ideologues is the notion that they were thwarted in this high-profile case and that their law-and-order demagogy is increasingly being seen for what it is: a justification for the social inequality that plagues the US.
Abraham and other youth like him require continuous educational, psychological and other assistance. But such a humane approach would be tantamount to treason according to big-business politicians and the media, who aim to pollute public consciousness by criminalizing the poor. For them it would be preferable for the state to spend $50,000 a year keeping Abraham in prison for the rest of his life than provide him with the assistance he needs to be reintegrated into society.
This policy is consistent with the political vitriol Abraham has faced since his case began. In January 1997, the Michigan legislature enacted a new law allowing children of any age to be prosecuted as adults. By the end of that year, 46 states followed suit, allowing children to be tried as adults, with 14 authorizing adult prosecution for certain offenses.
The demands for vindictive punishment—including the “three strikes, you’re out” and other mandatory sentencing guidelines—have swelled the American prison population to the largest in the world, with more than 2 million individuals behind bars.
The Nathaniel Abraham case
Abraham was tried for the shooting death of 18-year-old Ronnie Greene outside a convenience store in the late evening of October 29, 1997. At the time, Nathaniel was nearly 100 yards away, playing with a .22 caliber rifle and firing randomly at trees in an open field a block from his house. One of the shots apparently ricocheted off a tree and hit Ronnie Greene as he was leaving the store at the edge of the field.
These circumstances, when combined with the fact that Nathaniel did not know Ronnie Greene, indicate there was no legitimate basis to prosecute the youth for first-degree murder, which implies premeditation.
Moreover, both Nathaniel and Ronnie Greene were victims of the terrible poverty in Pontiac, a former center of General Motors, which has been ravaged by decades of plant closings and mass layoffs. Nathaniel’s mother, Gloria—a single parent and lab technician—had repeatedly tried to get help for her son but was rebuffed b
