PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- A defense attorney for 14-year-old convicted murderer Nathaniel Abraham filed a motion Thursday asking the judge to reverse the conviction.
Abraham was 11 when he was charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the 1997 shooting death of Ronnie Greene Jr. His case gained national attention as he became the first youth to be charged with first-degree murder and tried as an adult under a January 1997 Michigan law allowing adult prosecutions of children of any age in certain serious felony cases.
Abraham was convicted in November of second-degree murder and was sentenced last month to juvenile custody until he turns 21. If he had been convicted of first-degree murder, he would have faced life in prison without chance of parole.
In seeking reversal of Abraham's conviction, defense attorney Geoffrey Fieger cited denial of the right to speedy trial, admission of testimony in violation of constitutional guarantees, failure to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and failure to ensure the boy's mental competency to stand trial.
"Nate Abraham, a little child, was deprived of rights to which an adult charged with a crime is clearly entitled," Fieger said in a written statement. "They tried him as an adult, but took away his rights."
Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Halushka said Thursday that the defense waived its right to a speedy trial early in the case.
"That's a claim without merit," she said. "I am confident that he (Fieger) will not prevail on any of these issues, and the convictions will stand."
The motion will be decided by Oakland County Judge Eugene Moore, who presided over the trial.