| Lionel Tate | |
|---|---|
mug shot of Tate |
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| Born | 30 January 1987 Broward County, Florida, United States |
| Conviction(s) | Second degree murder, probation violation and armed robbery |
| Penalty | 30 years in state prison |
| Status | Incarcerated at the Suwannee Correctional Institution - Annex in Florida |
Lionel Alexander Tate (born January 30, 1987)[1] is the youngest American citizen ever sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. In January 2001, when Tate was 14, he was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1999 battering death of 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick in Broward County, Florida.
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Tate was left alone with Eunick, who was being babysat by Tate's mother, Kathleen Grossett-Tate. While the children were downstairs playing, Tate's mother called up to them to be quiet. Tate came down 45 minutes later to say that Eunick was not breathing. He states that they were wrestling, he had her in a head lock and slammed the child's head into the table.
Tate was convicted of killing Eunick by stomping on her so forcefully that her liver was lacerated.[2] Her other injuries included a fractured skull, fractured rib and swollen brain. These injuries were characterized by the prosecution as "similar to those she would have sustained by falling from a three-story building."[3] In sentencing Tate to life imprisonment, Judge Joel T. Lazarus of Broward County Circuit Court said that "The acts of Lionel Tate were not the playful acts of a child [...] The acts of Lionel Tate were cold, callous and indescribably cruel."[4]
The sentence was controversial because Tate was 12 years old at the time of the death, and his victim was 6. He was the youngest person in modern US history to be sentenced to life imprisonment, bringing broad criticism on the treatment of juvenile offenders in the justice system of the State of Florida.
Tate's mother, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, and the defense had turned down a plea bargain arrangement which would have allowed Tate to serve a three-year term for second-degree murder in a youth facility followed by 10 years probation but instead, his mother insisted on going to trial in hopes of an acquittal.
Florida Statutes require a jury to convict a child of first-degree murder even if the jury does not believe that the child intended to kill anyone, nor that the child must have known its actions could have resulted in death, nor that the child intended to injure anyone, nor that the child must have known its actions are likely to injure anyone -- all that is required is that the child knowingly abused another child who died as a result (wherein any intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in physical injury to a child is child abuse per Florida statutes). [5]
The mechanism for such convictions is known as the felony murder rule.
Thus to convict Lionel it was sufficient for the jury to conclude that he knowingly abused a child and that this abuse resulted in the child's death. The statutes did not permit the jury to consider for conviction whether Lionel realized his actions could reasonably be expected to result in physical injury, nor did they permit the jury to consider for conviction whether a typical child of Lionel's age at the time of the incident would have known this. The sufficient conditions of the felony murder rule, with the above implications, were listed by the judge Joel T. Lazarus during sentencing. [6]
Thus Lionel was sentenced to life in prison without anyone having to prove that he intended to kill or injure, or realized that his acts are likely to kill or injure, or even that a typical child of his age would or should realize this.
Critics, such as the various groups listed as AMICI CURIAE in Tate's appeal, assert that convicting preteen children of 1st-degree murder without having to prove these children intended any harm, not to mention serious injury or death, is unacceptable. [7] [8]
After the conviction, the prosecution openly joined Tate's plea for leniency in sentencing, and even offered to help in his appeal. The trial judge criticized the prosecution for compromising the integrity of the adversarial system, and said that if the prosecution felt that life imprisonment was not warranted, they should not have charged him with murder in the first place.
In January 2004, a state appeals court overturned his conviction on the basis that his mental competency had not been evaluated before trial. This opened the way for Tate to accept the same plea deal he originally turned down, and he was released on one year's house arrest and 10 years' probation.
On September 3, 2004, Tate was detained and held in prison for violating the terms of his house arrest when he was found out of his house and carrying a four-inch knife. On October 29, the Associated Press reported that Tate was placed on zero tolerance probation, for an additional five years.
On November 30, Tate was allowed to return to the home of his mother, Kathleen Grossett-Tate. The family he had been staying with asked that he be removed, because frequent visits by state probation officers were too stressful.
On May 23, 2005, Tate was charged with armed burglary with battery, armed robbery and violation of probation, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said.
Tate threatened Domino's Pizza deliveryman Walter Ernest Gallardo with a handgun outside a friend's apartment after phoning in an order. Gallardo dropped the four pizzas and fled the scene. Tate then re-entered the apartment, assaulting the occupant who did not want Tate inside.
Gallardo called 9-1-1 upon reaching the Domino's store and returned to identify Tate, the sheriff's office said in a statement. No gun was recovered.
On March 1, 2006, Tate accepted a plea bargain and was to be sentenced to 10–30 years imprisonment in a sentencing hearing in April 2006. Tate admitted that he had violated probation by possessing a gun during the May 23 robbery that netted four pizzas worth $33.60, but he has refused to answer questions about where he got and later disposed of the gun. He was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea for robbery, but was finally sentenced to 30 years in prison on May 18, 2006 for violating probation. On October 24, 2007, Florida's 4th District Court of Appeal upheld that sentence.[9]
On February 19, 2008, Tate pleaded no contest to the pizza robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. The sentence will run concurrently with his 30 year sentence for violating his probation.[10]