A Michigan jury has found Nathaniel Abraham (13), one of the youngest murder defendants ever in the US, guilty of second-degree murder.
Abraham was 11 when he was arrested on Halloween night two years ago, still wearing his trick-or-treat costume, for the shooting death of Mr Ronnie Greene jnr (18), on October 29th, 1997.
Abraham admitted to police he fired a .22 calibre rifle, but said he was shooting at trees and did not mean to hit Mr Greene, who was standing 60 to 90 metres away in front of a convenience store.
The prosecutor, Ms Lisa Halushka, said prosecutors would recommend to the court at sentencing on December 14th that Abraham be sent to a juvenile detention facility for rehabilitation. At the age of 21, he could then be set free or jailed for a longer period under an adult sentence.
In a case that drew widespread attention, Abraham was charged with first-degree murder as an adult. A first-degree conviction would have meant the jury believed Abraham had planned to kill Mr Greene. Abraham could have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But the jury rejected that, instead deciding on the lesser charge, which means Abraham could be paroled.