PONTIAC -- The clock is ticking on the youngest person convicted of murder in Michigan.

Nathaniel Abraham, who was 11 years old when he fired a sniper shot from a hilltop in Pontiac, killing an 18-year-old man, has one year and one day left in his second-degree murder sentence.

At the end of that time, Abraham, who at age 13 in 1999 was the youngest person convicted of murder in the United States, will walk out of state custody and be released into society.

But prosecutors say Abraham is still not rehabilitated, despite eight years in a juvenile detention and treatment center, and should stay locked up until he is 21.

"He is the youngest murderer in Michigan. Prosecutors are watching this case. The public is watching this case. It's Nathaniel's turn in a year and two days to show us what he has learned," Deborah Carley, chief deputy prosecutor for Oakland County, said Tuesday.

But the Oakland County judge who gave Abraham a second chance at life by sentencing him as a juvenile is hopeful Abraham will make enough progress over the next few months to go to a halfway house and learn how to live on the outside -- all by his 21st birthday.

On Tuesday, a team of lawyers, social workers, police, family members and survivors gathered for a progress report on Abraham, who walked into Oakland Circuit Court handcuffed.

In the last three months, Abraham, now 19, has toured three halfway houses in mid-Michigan, speaking with staff and learning of the daily routines there.

He also had supervised visits with an uncle in Jackson, where he spent time with other family members, and he has continued to speak to young people around the region about his crime, his incarceration and his rehabilitation.

Abraham got a job in December at Maxey in maintenance, where he works four hours a day cleaning classrooms, waxing floors and preparing the rooms for special events.

Jack Haynes, a court appointed psychologist who met with Abraham three times in December, described Abraham's progress as a "mixed picture, mostly positive."

Abraham, who has been diagnosed with a severe personality disorder, seemed to feel remorse for his victim and for himself for being in this situation, Haynes said.

Haynes recommended that Abraham continue with supervised visits off-campus until April, when he would be allowed unsupervised visits to the same places and continue counseling and speaking engagements.

If his progress is adequate, Haynes said Abraham should begin his time in a halfway house by July.

At the start of the hearing, Abraham greeted his lawyers and waved to his mother, Gloria.

By the time he's released, Abraham will have spent nearly half of his 21 years at Maxey in Green Oak Township. It's the longest stint at the facility, where the average stay is three years.

At Tuesday's hearing, Judge Eugene Arthur Moore asked the Maxey staff how they transition juveniles into halfway houses without upsetting the surrounding community and whether Abraham could get a job on the outside before he left Maxey.

One of Abraham's lawyers said she hoped the media coverage of the case would lessen in order to let Abraham make progress on his rehabilitation. That didn't sit well with Carley, the chief deputy prosecutor.

"Let's not forget why (we) are here today. He did kill someone. He was convicted of second-degree murder," Carley said.

Last year, Moore had told Abraham's lawyers he would like to see Abraham moved to a halfway house by now, when he has one year left under state supervision. But everyone on Abraham's case has agreed that until he improves his behavior, he will have to remain at Maxey.

Moore did not make a decision on Haynes' recommendations. He scheduled the case for another review hearing in May. What is left to decide is whether Abraham should be in a step-down program that eases him back into society or whether he should be kept at Maxey until he is 21.

At the end of the hearing, Moore, who has become a mentor of sorts for Abraham, asked the young man what he could expected to hear at the next hearing.

"Positive, all positive," said Abraham, who turns 20 on Thursday.

You can reach Jennifer Chambers at (248) 647-7402 or jchambers@detnews.com.