Nathaniel Abraham Of Pontiac, Michigan Case Study

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Eleven-year-old Nathaniel Abraham of Pontiac, Michigan is in custody for the murder of Ronnie Green, awaiting the beginnings of a long trial balancing his actions with the appropriate consequences. Based on the mental status and the treatment that Nathaniel Abraham was given as a child gives you insight as to how it is unlikely Nathaniel had a full understanding as to what is right and wrong at the time of the incident. Based off of Nathaniel’s inability to understand behavior control he should be treated with a blended sentence including time within a juvenile center until he shows a tremendous amount of improvement and if not to be placed in an adult prison at 21. While growing up Nathaniel had to deal with several negative factors that …show more content…
Nathaniel’s case took place in Pontiac, Michigan where a law was passed in favor of the idea that they were going to be able to stop potentially dangerous children. This same law also had no limit to what age could be decided for any serious adult crimes (Randall, “World Socialist Web Site”). Another flaw with the law is how to treat the children once they are arrested, one article states “As Michigan law now stands, it is even more difficult to make an informed decision because parents and police cannot know whether the child will be charged as an adult or a juvenile. The prosecutor makes that decision. So parents of a troublemaker might cooperate, thinking their child would get juvenile treatment, and then find they have in effect enrolled him or her in Prison.“(JUVENILE RIGHTS: NATHANIEL ABRAHAM CASE DESERVES COURT REVIEW.) Not all children who will be put on trial under this law will have the same mental capacity and attitude as the next. When a child becomes a suspect they should automatically be treated differently than adults based on the fact they are still developing biologically, and some may have mental disabilities that are not yet known. Nathaniel was one of these children who were not able to fully understand what he was doing as stated in one article,”Fieger contended that the defendant, who at the age of 11 functioned at the mental level of a six- to eight-year-old child, did not have the mental capacity to plan and execute such a crime. He had an IQ of 75 as well as serious emotional and learning disabilities.”(Randall, “World Socialist Web Site”) During his trial it should become well known that Nathaniel does need help, and should be sentenced with that in

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