One boy's harrowing journey through the criminal justice system, and his fight to reform it. Nearly a quarter of a million young people are tried, sentenced, or imprisoned as adults every year across the United States. Putting a human face to these sobering statistics, Boy With a Knife tells the story of Karter Kane Reed, who, at the age of 16, was sentenced to life in an adult prison for a murder he committed in 1993. The emotional and devastating narrative takes readers step by step through Karter's crime, trial, punishment and survival in prison, as well as his readjustment.