Word: tates
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...story of Lionel Tate is doubly tragic. Tate, a 12-year-old boy, was convicted of maliciously beating six-year-old Tiffany Eunick to death earlier last month. As punishment, a Florida judge sentenced him to life imprisonment without parole...
...Tate is a murderer, plain and simple. But not even the prosecution thought he deserved to go to jail for life...
...Tate's case, two of the most egregious problems of American's judicial system combined to prevent justice from being served. First, though he was only 12 when he killed Eunick, Tate was tried as an adult. And when he was convicted, the judge had no choice but to abide by mandatory sentencing laws, incarcerating Tate for life...
Juveniles are normally held to different standards than adults due to their emotional immaturity and potential for change. In Tate's case, this seems particularly relevant-his mental capacity was far below average for his age. Though the 170-pound Tate may be as big as an adult, there is little doubt that he was emotionally immature...
...addition, Tate's sentencing points to the inherent problems concerning mandatory sentencing. Even the prosecutors felt the Tate sentence was too harsh; they favored a plea-bargain sentencing the boy to three years imprisonment, followed by house arrest and ten years probation-an offer rejected by the defense prior to the case. Tragically, once he was convicted, the judge had little choice but to impose the mandatory sentence. Florida laws have made it nearly impossible for judges to use their discretion when sentencing violent offenders; as a result, the extraordinary circumstances of this case were not taken into account...