# Nathaniel Jamal Abraham -- kid or killer? Or both?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathaniel-jamal-abraham-kid-or-killer-or-both/6574>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 27, 2000, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathaniel-jamal-abraham-kid-or-killer-or-both/6574 "2000-01-27T06:01:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TBone2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@TBone2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBone2)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathaniel-jamal-abraham-kid-or-killer-or-both/6574/1 "2000-01-27T06:01:00Z")

</div>

We have a case here of an 11-year-old black kid who shot and killed an 18-year-old black man in Pontiac, Michigan. That much of the story is not disputed.

Under Michigan law, the prosecutors tried Abraham as an adult, and a jury found Abraham guilty of second-degree murder. The judge in the case, on the other hand, decided to sentence Abraham to the maximum penalty available under juvenile law – detention in a “juvie” facility until Abraham turns 21, at which time he will be released, and his criminal record expunged.

Was justice served? Did Nate Abraham do the deed? Should his confession have been admitted/excluded?

* * *

_I don’t know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free…_

T

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathaniel-jamal-abraham-kid-or-killer-or-both/6574/2 "2000-01-27T17:39:00Z")

</div>

And WHY are all these Great Debates being posted in the GQ forum? 🙂