GUILTY FL - Tiffany Eunick, 6, beaten to death, Pembroke Park, 28 July 1999

[SewingDeb]

You are so right, Jules.

 

[lisafremont]

I was against him serving a life sentence, but thought he needed to be watched and watched closely. I wonder how much of this would have happened anyway and how much of it is a product of his serving time in jail at such a young age?

But, Jeana, his savage and brutal beating of a helpless little girl was not a product of serving time in jail, was it?

 

[mysteriew]

Eight days before a Broward judge could send child-killer Lionel Tate to prison for life, prosecutors released more evidence they say ties him to the May armed robbery of a pizza deliveryman.

Among video recordings released Friday was detailed testimony from a witness who said he saw Tate ''point the gun'' at the pizza man.

Lionel ''has the gun to the man's face and the man throws the pizza boxes in the air and [starts to] tumble down the steps,'' a teen named Willie Corouthers told Broward Sheriff's Office detectives who interviewed him after the crime.

Prosecutor Chuck Morton is confident the evidence bolsters his contention that Tate, 18, committed the May 23 holdup.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12848965.htm

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Suicide Threat Postpones Hearing





By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A hearing that could have meant a return behind bars for Lionel Tate, once the youngest person in modern U.S. history sentenced to life in prison, was postponed Monday because he sent a letter to a judge threatening to kill himself.

Tate, convicted at age 13 of killing a 6-year-old girl, was examined during the weekend by a psychologist whose findings will be presented at a competency hearing on Dec. 19. Broward County Circuit Judge Joel T. Lazarus, who said he received the letter Friday, decided to wait for that finding before deciding whether to revoke Tate's probation.

Tate, now 18, faces a possible return to prison for life if Lazarus finds he violated his probation. He was arrested in May on charges that he robbed a pizza delivery man at gunpoint.

Tate was 12 when he killed Tiffany Eunick, a family friend his mother was baby-sitting for, on July 28, 1999. His lawyers initially claimed the girl died accidentally while the 160-pound boy was imitating wrestling moves he saw on television, but experts said the girl died of skull fractures and a lacerated liver suffered in a beating that lasted one to five minutes.

He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in 2001. In 2004, an appeals court tossed out the conviction after finding that it was not clear whether Tate understood what was happening to him. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to time served and 10 years' probation.

In his handwritten letter to the judge, Tate said that his public defender, H. Dohn Williams, didn't understand "my mental condition." He continued: "I stated to him before that I was hearing voices and that I wanted to kill myself."

He also quoted Florida law by statute number in saying that the judge should order a psychiatric evaluation.

Williams said outside court Monday that Tate was placed under "watch" at the county jail because of his suicidal statements.

http://www.winktv.com/x466.xml?URL=http://localhost/APWIREFEED/d8ea5g9g1.xml

 

[mysteriew]

Lionel Tate switched attorneys Wednesday, hiring a controversial legal defender who says he's ready to jump into the court fight to keep the convicted killer out of prison.

Veteran attorney Ellis Rubin, known for his unorthodox legal arguments, announced at a news conference that he's already looking into a novel defense against charges that Tate violated his probation. Rubin declined to discuss the possible defense, acknowledging he hasn't examined the facts of the case.

"(Tate) wanted my help desperately, and I promised him that I would do all I could," Rubin said.

Rubin said the first thing he will do is file paperwork asking acting Broward Circuit Judge Joel Lazarus to remove himself from the case. Rubin and Lazarus were on opposite sides of the courtroom in the notorious Kathy Willets prostitution case, and Rubin once filed a libel lawsuit against Lazarus.

Rubin said Lazarus previously has taken himself off any case handled by Rubin's firm. Lazarus was the judge who presided over Tate's 2001 murder case and has been handling all criminal matters involving Tate since. Tate is looking at a possible life sentence if his probation is revoked in the beating death of 6-year-old playmate Tiffany Eunick in 1999 when he was 12. Tate became the youngest American ever sentenced to life behind bars for the beating death, but his first-degree murder conviction was overturned on appeal. He later accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder that allowed him to get out of prison and return to his mother's Pembroke Park, Fla., home.

Rubin revealed Wednesday that Tate didn't write the letter himself, but he had someone in the Broward County Jail write his thoughts down for him. Rubin declined to say who helped Tate with the letter, other than to say it wasn't a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/nation/13353302.htm

 

[PlasmaFiend024]

yeah jail is tough but there are alot offenders that get out and never get in trouble again.this kid needs to be put under the jail forever.pease trying to cop out and say hes mental gimme a break.just shows ya some kids are born bad.his lawyer defends him who defended the lil girl he killed? :razz: .

 

[mysteriew]

Lionel Tate is competent to face probation violation charges that could send him away to prison for life, a judge ruled on Monday.

Tate's attorneys said that the convicted child killer had fallen under the sway of another inmate who advised him to feign mental illness. The other inmate was responsible for writing the letter that Tate sent to acting Broward Circuit Judge Joel Lazarus in which the 18-year-old claimed to be hearing voices in his head and having suicidal thoughts.

Tate's attorneys waived holding a competency hearing.

Lazarus still took testimony from two psychologists who had seen Tate since the judge received the letter on Dec. 2.

The psychologists testified that Tate's behavior was consistent with someone who was pretending to be mentally ill. At one point, Tate even claimed not to remember his mother's first name.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...tate,0,6950579.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

 

[bbmcrae]

This guy is a genuine idiot. Please let him be put away for good for killing that little girl.

Another story & link:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...0dec20,0,2153726.story?coll=sfla-news-broward

Tate deemed competent to stand trial for charges

By Jon Burstein
Staff Writer
Posted December 20 2005

Lionel Tate is competent to face probation violation charges that could end in a life sentence, a judge ruled Monday after two psychologists said the convicted killer was feigning hearing voices in his head.

Tate faked mental problems after an older Broward County Jail inmate convinced the 18-year-old it would help his case, one of Tate's attorneys acknowledged.


The other inmate, Sanders Hightower, wrote the letter signed by Tate that led to the competency hearing, Tate's defenders said. Tate claimed in the letter to acting Broward Circuit Judge Joel Lazarus that voices were telling him to commit suicide.

"It was a desperate attempt by a young man who was manipulated by this Hightower fellow," said Assistant Public Defender H. Dohn Williams, who represented Tate in the hearing.

 

[Schmerty_Jones]

I really agree & more so when his parent doesn't take any responsiblity for his crime & lack of supervision & parenting. It's pass the buck. There's clearly something wrong. The buck stops here!

 

[aussiegran]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A judge denied an effort Friday by the attorney for admitted child-killer Lionel Tate to throw out his original 1999 murder indictment, rejecting arguments that Florida's system of charging some children as adults is unconstitutional.



"I am bound by the law," said Broward County Circuit Judge Joel Lazarus. "I am a servant of the law."



Tate, now 19, was only 12 when he was indicted by a grand jury for the killing of 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick, a family friend. He was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison, becoming at the time the youngest person to get a life sentence in modern U.S. history.



That conviction and sentence was later overturned, resulting in Tate's guilty plea to second-degree murder and a new sentence of probation. Tate, whose lawyers initially claimed he accidentally killed Tiffany while imitating pro wrestling moves, now faces a return to prison for life for allegedly violating probation by robbing a pizza delivery man at gunpoint last May.



Attorney Ellis Rubin, a Miami defense lawyer known for his unusual tactics and far-reaching motions, argued Friday that Tate never should have been tried as an adult and urged Lazarus to strike down the state system of transferring juveniles to adult court as "cruel and unusual punishment" that violates the U.S. Constitution.



"Children shouldn't be treated like adults with the stroke of a pen," Rubin said. "It's about time that somebody did something about it."



But Lazarus sided with prosecutors, who said the law limits such transfers to children accused of particularly serious crimes such as murder and that grand juries are given a choice of charging such young suspects as adults or as juveniles.



"There's nothing unbridled about it," said prosecutor Chuck Morton. "It is controlled. It's not unfair."



Lazarus did delay Tate's probation revocation hearing from Monday until Wednesday, giving Rubin time to appeal the ruling. Morton said he was confident the state would prevail because the 4th District Court of Appeal has previously upheld Tate's murder indictment.



Tate did not speak during Friday's hearing, but was dressed in a striped dress shirt rather than the customary jail jumpsuit he has usually worn. His mother, Kathleen Grossett-Tate, spoke briefly with reporters after the hearing to say that her son is "hopeful" he won't return to prison and agreeing with Rubin's arguments.



"Children should be treated as children," said Grossett-Tate, who is a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.
http://www.local6.com/news/7410384/detail.html
.................................
:clap: Well done to this Judge

 

[Bobbisangel]

This kid was given a chance after he killed that little girl. He now has made the choice to continue with a life of crime. There isn't any justification for holding up a pizza delivery man....except that Tate wanted to hold him up.

He has made his choice.....now he should pay the full price.

 

[~wildangel~]

His Mother,imo,shouldve been held respoinsible the 1st time(Ms."Sleeping Upstairs and Couldnt Hear A Child Being Murdered")

YEAH, geez the sound of the kids getting into the cookie jar wakes me up! Seriously though, i can't even sleep when my kids are running around, because you never know what they're gonna do...though it sounds like this kid had serious anger issues to actually kill her...


But then look at Mary Bell and those kids that tortured 2 year old James Bulger...ugh so sick and sad. Some children are just pure evil.
If you haven't read about Mary Bell or the James Bugler murders, i urge you to do so...but if you haven't, have tissues ready and prepare to possibly vomit:sick:

 

[Jules]

Second chance ends with guilty plea

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) -- Lionel Tate, once the youngest person in modern U.S. history sentenced to life behind bars, faces 10 to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to the armed robbery of a pizza delivery man.

Tate said "Yes, sir" when Broward County Circuit Judge Joel T. Lazarus asked him if he would plead guilty to the robbery. Lazarus scheduled sentencing for April 3.

Tate, 19, also admitted that he had violated probation by possessing a gun during the robbery last May, and that he violated laws by doing so. Lazarus said that any sentence he imposes for those violations would run concurrently with the robbery sentence.

The guilty plea is the latest twist in the long-running case of Tate, who was convicted of killing 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick when he was only 12.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/01/lionel.tate.ap/index.html

 

[j2mirish]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A judge denied an effort Friday by the attorney for admitted child-killer Lionel Tate to throw out his original 1999 murder indictment, rejecting arguments that Florida's system of charging some children as adults is unconstitutional.



"I am bound by the law," said Broward County Circuit Judge Joel Lazarus. "I am a servant of the law."



Tate, now 19, was only 12 when he was indicted by a grand jury for the killing of 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick, a family friend. He was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison, becoming at the time the youngest person to get a life sentence in modern U.S. history.



That conviction and sentence was later overturned, resulting in Tate's guilty plea to second-degree murder and a new sentence of probation. Tate, whose lawyers initially claimed he accidentally killed Tiffany while imitating pro wrestling moves, now faces a return to prison for life for allegedly violating probation by robbing a pizza delivery man at gunpoint last May.



Attorney Ellis Rubin, a Miami defense lawyer known for his unusual tactics and far-reaching motions, argued Friday that Tate never should have been tried as an adult and urged Lazarus to strike down the state system of transferring juveniles to adult court as "cruel and unusual punishment" that violates the U.S. Constitution.



"Children shouldn't be treated like adults with the stroke of a pen," Rubin said. "It's about time that somebody did something about it."



But Lazarus sided with prosecutors, who said the law limits such transfers to children accused of particularly serious crimes such as murder and that grand juries are given a choice of charging such young suspects as adults or as juveniles.



"There's nothing unbridled about it," said prosecutor Chuck Morton. "It is controlled. It's not unfair."



Lazarus did delay Tate's probation revocation hearing from Monday until Wednesday, giving Rubin time to appeal the ruling. Morton said he was confident the state would prevail because the 4th District Court of Appeal has previously upheld Tate's murder indictment.



Tate did not speak during Friday's hearing, but was dressed in a striped dress shirt rather than the customary jail jumpsuit he has usually worn. His mother, Kathleen Grossett-Tate, spoke briefly with reporters after the hearing to say that her son is "hopeful" he won't return to prison and agreeing with Rubin's arguments.



"Children should be treated as children," said Grossett-Tate, who is a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.
http://www.local6.com/news/7410384/detail.html
.................................
:clap: Well done to this Judge

and a 19 year old...should be treated as a 19 year old...not a child

 

[OneLostGrl]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...tate,0,4110792.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Lionel Tate wants a judge to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of robbing a pizza delivery man, saying in a handwritten letter released Tuesday that he can prove he didn't pull the heist.
-----------------------------------------------------

This kid is just a bad seed!

IMO

 

[Jean]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...tate,0,4110792.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Lionel Tate wants a judge to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of robbing a pizza delivery man, saying in a handwritten letter released Tuesday that he can prove he didn't pull the heist.
-----------------------------------------------------

This kid is just a bad seed!
IMO

OneLostGrl, that is exactly what I was thinking--bad seed--when I saw this thread activated again, even before reading it! He just doesn't seem to know right from wrong, and he doesn't accept responsibility for his wrong doings. I think maybe he is a sociopath or psychopath.

 

[proadvocate]

I remember when this punk was sentenced to life for murder,everyone claimed how childlike he was and how undeserving of such a harsh sentence,blah blah,blah.I have long held the belief that despite age,sex,race,finances,whatever,if you kill an innocent person you deserve a needle.so far since being released from prison this punk has done nothing but convince me how right i am.May God be with those who bust our chops about how undeserving a killer is of the death penalty......For 1 day it will be thier loved 1 these punks kill.....will they be undeserving then?

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I remember when this punk was sentenced to life for murder,everyone claimed how childlike he was and how undeserving of such a harsh sentence,blah blah,blah.I have long held the belief that despite age,sex,race,finances,whatever,if you kill an innocent person you deserve a needle.so far since being released from prison this punk has done nothing but convince me how right i am.May God be with those who bust our chops about how undeserving a killer is of the death penalty......For 1 day it will be thier loved 1 these punks kill.....will they be undeserving then?

I was one of those people. I wasn't then, and I'm not now, ready to execute a 12-year old child.

 

[proadvocate]

So we don't execute the 12 yr old killer,sounds great from a moral stand.But then what do we do when the 12 yr old grows up?How many more innocent lives do we give him the opportunity to take before we finally admit he deserves death?Tate never faced a death sentence,unfortunately,but even a life sentence was appaling to some.....I wonder if the pizza guy would agree with Tates supporters claims that he was just a misunderstood kid who deserved a 2nd chance?I wonder how the supporter wuld feel if the pizza guy was their son?Will we be more satisfied to bury 2 or 3 more innocent people just to fulfil our moral obligation to a young ?Where is the end of the line,How many chances to kill do we allow before we finally say enough is enough?Personally I think 1 murder is more than enough........Maybe as the thugs begin killing their supporters and their loved ones,I won't be so lonely in my views?How many of your kids would you sacrifice to spare the right of a youthful offender to live?

 

[Jeana (DP)]

So we don't execute the 12 yr old killer,sounds great from a moral stand.But then what do we do when the 12 yr old grows up?How many more innocent lives do we give him the opportunity to take before we finally admit he deserves death?Tate never faced a death sentence,unfortunately,but even a life sentence was appaling to some.....I wonder if the pizza guy would agree with Tates supporters claims that he was just a misunderstood kid who deserved a 2nd chance?I wonder how the supporter wuld feel if the pizza guy was their son?Will we be more satisfied to bury 2 or 3 more innocent people just to fulfil our moral obligation to a young ?Where is the end of the line,How many chances to kill do we allow before we finally say enough is enough?Personally I think 1 murder is more than enough........Maybe as the thugs begin killing their supporters and their loved ones,I won't be so lonely in my views?How many of your kids would you sacrifice to spare the right of a youthful offender to live?

Some kids don't commit more crimes as adults. For the ones that do, let those crimes stand on their own merit. If they pass the age of 18 and commit a capital offense, I say ta ta to them - that's the end of the line, IMO.

P.S. I've already got an unsolved murder in my family, so please don't preach to me about "it could happen to you." Nothing would make me feel right about executing a 12-year old, no matter how you phrase it.