An estimated 4,000 youth are currently being held as adults in the U.S. prison system, including 70 on death row, convicted of crimes committed before they reached their 18th birthday. Since 1992, 44 states have adopted new laws that allow more children to be tried as adults, in some cases as young as 10 years old. Michigan's 1996 law is one of the harshest. It allows children of any age accused of serious crimes, such as murder, to be charged as adults. Before its enactment no one under 14 could be tried as an adult. Although children under 14 tried as adults can still be sentenced as juvenile offenders, at the discretion of the judge, youth between 14 and 16 charged under the law are automatically sentenced as adults. All charges against 17-year-olds are tried in adult criminal court.

Before the trial the press tried to paint Abraham as a cold-blooded, confessed murderer who'd had many run-ins with the cops. But testimony during the widely covered trial brought out facts to the contrary. Abraham, a Black youth, was growing up in a working-class neighborhood in Pontiac with a learning disability. He was ignored by school officials and the social service system. His mother, a lab technician who worked an evening shift, requested that the juvenile court system declare her son incorrigible so he could get some help. They ignored her request.

Abraham was arrested during a school Halloween party. Before the cops even explained to his mother that Abraham faced murder charges, the cops pressed her and the boy to waive his right to an attorney during questioning, which they did. Abraham's statement was the basis of the charges against him and was used against him in court. The defense did not challenge the fact that Abraham fired a .22-caliber rifle, but argued there was no intent to kill. The rifle was old and did not have a stock. Abraham told cops that he was "just shooting at trees," and "I guess I just hit somebody."

His lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, the Democratic Party candidate for governor of Michigan in the last election, said he believed racism had played a role in the charges and trial. Only 8 percent of the population of Oakland County is Black, in contrast to neighboring Wayne County, which encompasses Detroit and is heavily Black. Only one member of the jury was Black.

The trial opened a public debate on the question of charging youths as adults. Amnesty International used Abraham's picture on the cover of a report it issued critical of the way children are treated in the court system in many U.S. states.

Like at many worksites, a lively debate unfolded at Ford's Michigan Truck plant. While many workers had questions about the circumstances of the incident by the end of the trial, some still argued, "Adult crime, adult time." Others insisted that there was no way an 11-year-old should be charged as an adult.

Small protests have been held around the trial. On November 12 the Black Law Student Alliance from the University of Michigan joined the NAACP and the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union in protesting the proceedings. The defendant's mother, Gloria Abraham, told those gathered, "I appreciate your support for my son and all my children." She urged, "As a community, we need to stick together for our children. The way they're handling my son's situation is not the answer."

Sixty people returned to the court house November 23. Leaders of the local NAACP, defense attorneys, and others were joined by Democratic politician Alfred Sharpton from New York and Martin Luther King III, the son of the slain civil rights leader, in protesting the verdict. They urged others to join them on December 14, the date set for sentencing.

John Sarge is a member of the United Auto workers. Bill Schmitt is a member of the Young Socialists.  
 
 
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