New Trial for Boy Convicted of Murder

A Florida appeals court on Wednesday ordered a new trial for a boy serving a life sentence for killing a 6-year-old girl when he was 12, saying his ability to understand the complex proceedings against him should have been taken into consideration.

In reversing the 2001 first-degree murder conviction of Lionel Tate, the 4th District Court of Appeal wrote that Tate’s capacity to assist in his defense -- key to determining his competency to stand trial -- was clearly in doubt.

“The record reflects that questions regarding Tate’s competency were not lurking subtly in the background, but were readily apparent, as his immaturity and developmental delays were very much at the heart of the defense,” Judge Barry J. Stone wrote in the opinion.

Tate, who at the time of his trial was determined to have a low-average IQ, was too immature to make crucial decisions on trial strategy and plea offers, his lawyers argued on appeal. After turning down a plea offer, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“This opinion focuses public and judicial attention on children, especially those under the age of 14, who are tried as adults when they are not able to appreciate the criminal process,” said Christopher C. Slobogin, associate director of the Center on Children and the Law at the University of Florida’s law school. “It’s intuitively obvious, and empirical research bears out, that children do not have the same perspective on self-preservation, or an appreciation for future consequences, that an adult has.”

Tate had just completed fifth grade when he was arrested in the murder of Tiffany Eunick, a neighbor. Her numerous injuries included a fractured skull, a broken rib, internal hemorrhaging, a lacerated liver and more than 20 bruises. Tate’s attorneys said he accidentally killed the girl while reenacting pro-wrestling moves he had seen on television. One prosecution witness said Tiffany’s injuries were comparable to those received by someone who had fallen three stories. Even defense experts conceded that Tate’s story did not fully account for Tiffany’s injuries.

Still, prosecutors offered Tate a deal: In return for pleading guilty to manslaughter, he would serve three years in a juvenile facility, followed by 10 years of probation. After talking it over with his mother, Tate rejected the offer. “Do you want to believe your child is capable of murder?” asked defense lawyer Jim Lewis, who represented Tate at trial. “Would you want your child to be put in prison for three years? She put her faith in the criminal-justice system, that it would not find an intentional crime.”

In Wednesday’s opinion, the three-judge panel found that the trial court had an obligation to ensure that Tate understood the plea offer and the possibility that he could get a life sentence if he rejected it. Failing to do so was a violation of his due-process rights, the court wrote.

Lewis said he hopes prosecutors will put the original plea offer back on the table and allow Tate, who is now 16, to be released from a maximum-security juvenile prison by early next year. The Florida attorney general’s office has 15 days to decide its next step, said spokeswoman JoAnn Carrin.

Despite the reversal, the appeals judges did not challenge Florida’s widely criticized law allowing children as young as 8 to be tried as adults.

“Florida courts have long recognized that there is no absolute right requiring children to be treated in a special system for juvenile offenders,” Stone wrote.

Nevertheless, Slobogin -- who filed an amicus brief in Tate’s appeal -- said the opinion might “trigger some rethinking on how we treat children who commit crimes.” Get-tough crime laws of the last decade are starting to be seen as overreactions, he said.