New Trial for Wrestling Murder

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp...0/124703068.htm

 

New 'Wrestling' Death Trial Ordered

By JILL BARTON

 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Appellate judges ordered a new trial Wednesday for a teenager serving a life sentence for killing a 6-year-old playmate, raising questions about whether child murderers are competent to be tried as adults and locked away with no hope of parole.

 

The judges at the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that Lionel Tate's first-degree murder conviction and life sentence should be reversed because Tate's competency should have been evaluated before the trial. The boy's lawyers had claimed he was imitating pro wrestlers when he killed Tiffany Eunick in July 1999.

 

Tate's family turned down a plea bargain before the trial that would have given him a three-year sentence.

 

``A competency hearing should have been held particularly given the complexity of the legal proceedings'' and Tate's age and known learning disabilities, the judges wrote in a nine-page ruling.

 

At a minimum, the court said, the judge 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.

 

However, the court did not challenge the Florida law allowing children 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,'' the opinion said.

 

 

Tate's attorney had argued before a state appellate court that the boy, who was 12 when he killed Tiffany, was too immature to understand what was at stake when he was on trial in 1999.

 

 

Tate was convicted of first-degree murder as an adult and sentenced to life without parole, as state law requires. He now lives in a maximum-security juvenile prison. A clemency request had been pending with the state's clemency board.

 

Defense attorney Richard Rosenbaum said Wednesday that Tate's refusal of the plea offer shows how ``clueless'' the boy was about court proceedings.

 

``We're ecstatic ... I thought from the very beginning that this was an accident,'' Rosenbaum told CNN.

 

It was not immediately clear whether Tate will be released from prison or retried. The Florida attorney general's office and the Broward County state attorney's office did not immediately return calls Wednesday seeking comment.

 

When the three-judge panel heard the appeal in September, Judge Martha C. Warner asked prosecutors what safeguards protect a young child from Florida's broad law that allows any person, regardless of age, to be prosecuted as an adult.

 

``There's no discretion exercised at all in this - no societal judgment,'' she said then. ``Age is not a consideration. That is what was argued through the whole trial.''

 

Judge Fred A. Hazouri asked then what is to stop prosecutors from charging a 6-year-old with murder if the child gets angry at a Little League game, picks up a bat and kills a teammate.

 

``At what point do we say as a society that that is just too young?'' Hazouri said.

 

Assistant Attorney General Debra Rescigno would not answer then what age would provide a reasonable cutoff for a murder conviction. She said Tate's life sentence was deserved because he horrifically beat the girl for more than five minutes.

 

No one disputed that the 170-pound Lionel beat Tiffany to death in the Pembroke Park home he shared with his mother, who was baby-sitting for the 48-pound girl. Kathleen Grossett-Tate, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, was asleep at the time.

 

An autopsy showed Tiffany suffered a fractured skull, lacerated liver, broken rib, internal hemorrhaging and cuts and bruises.

 

Tate's trial attorneys argued he accidentally killed her while imitating the moves of professional wrestlers he saw on television.

 

Lionel told police that he picked Tiffany up and accidentally hit her head against a table. He later made a videotape with a court-appointed psychologist where he claimed to have accidentally thrown Tiffany into a stair handrail and a wall while trying to throw her onto a sofa.

 

But the defense's own experts conceded that Lionel's story would not have accounted for all of Tiffany's injuries, which one prosecution expert said were comparable to falling from a three-story building.

 

Family members had refused the plea bargain because they insisted he was innocent.

[Vyce 0]

This little monster better not get off on appeal.

[Youth N Asia 0]

Wish they's stop calling this a "wrestling murder." He pounded a little girl to death.

[Highland 0]

He won't.

[Guest JMA]

The PTC is going to have a field-day with this.

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

I remember Tate's lawyers tried to bring pro wrestling into the trail and pretty much put all the blame on it's doorstep but, the judge throw that out.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

The PTC is going to have a field-day with this.

PTC wound up with egg on their face after evidence in the last trial was thrown out. They put up a letter saying they wouldn't get involved in WWE's business again, IIRC.

[Guest JMA]

The PTC is going to have a field-day with this.

PTC wound up with egg on their face after evidence in the last trial was thrown out. They put up a letter saying they wouldn't get involved in WWE's business again, IIRC.

Yeah, I remember. I wouldn't put it past them, though.

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

PTC wound up with egg on their face after evidence in the last trial was thrown out. They put up a letter saying they wouldn't get involved in WWE's business again, IIRC

 

Yeah I remember. Didn't the WWE win a court case against them?

[Guest BDC]

WWE did win a court case against the PTC.

 

For reference, the wrestling defense was like the fourth or fifth one they came up with. Easy scapegoat, but it doesn't match. You don't have those kinds of injuries doing wrestling moves, you get that from pounding on someone.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

After reading another thread, do all of you really think he should rot in jail for the rest of his life? I know what he did was horrible, and while normally I don't think there's a chance, since he was only 13 when it happened I'm sure that there's a chance for rehabilitation.

 

Or maybe not. He's probably sorry that he's going to jail for the rest of his life, and not that he killed an innocent little girl. But I don't really know for sure.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Not sure if Tate was a jury trial or not, but if it was and I was one of the jurors, I'd sue the legal system for wasting my time on this nonsense.

 

Lock the bastard up and throw away the key -- his scumbag lawyer should have accepted the plea bargain...

[Guest Sagrada3099]

If I remember correctly, though, I think Tate was diagnosed with ADD or somesuch.

 

Hell, were I the defense, I'd use that argument. Much more "trendy" and believable.

[Guest Evolution]

Not accepting the plea bargain for starters was ridiculous, but I agree that there's no way he's staying in jail for the rest of his life.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

If I remember correctly, though, I think Tate was diagnosed with ADD or somesuch.

Well I think I need to grab a Band-Aid to cover up my bleeding heart.

 

Fine, I'll give him lots of toys and games while he rots in his cage...

[Guest Sagrada3099]

Believe me, I'm far from a supporter of the concept of anyone having ADD. I was diagnosed with it, and I still think it's bullshit.

 

It's an excuse. People need to see that.

[Perfxion 0]

THe problem with this case is that the 12 year old child is standing as an adult. What pre-teens who watch pro wrestling have not tried the moves on others before? It is a crock of shit to have this kid get life in prision at an age when he thought his actions weren't bad. Should he be punished? Yes. Should he get life at 12 years old? Hell no. Should someone loook into the mental state of the child before any of this goes further? Duh.

[Guest MikeSC]

After reading another thread, do all of you really think he should rot in jail for the rest of his life? I know what he did was horrible, and while normally I don't think there's a chance, since he was only 13 when it happened I'm sure that there's a chance for rehabilitation.

 

Or maybe not. He's probably sorry that he's going to jail for the rest of his life, and not that he killed an innocent little girl. But I don't really know for sure.

The kid absolutely MAULED that little girl. The injuries she suffered were NOT from "goofing around" or "doing wrestling moves".

 

I will withhold my sympathy and concern for the late little girl, who was killed in a very, very painful and brutal manner.

 

The boy doesn't warrant any near as much of my empathy.

-=Mike

[Guest Sagrada3099]

The thing is, Lionel HAD to have known he was hurting her. After about the first two or so fucking SCREAMS of pain that the girl uttered, even a 12-year old could figure out that "Hey, she might be getting hurt. Mayhaps I should stop." The kid deserves life behind bars, and I'm almost to the point where I think his mom should be too.

 

I mean, Lionel brutally beats this little girl to death, and his mom SLEEPS through it?

[AlwaysPissedOff 0]

THe problem with this case is that the 12 year old child is standing as an adult. What pre-teens who watch pro wrestling have not tried the moves on others before?

That's probably true and all, but what THIS 12 year old did was cold-blooded MURDER. If you have Foley's second book, I suggest you read the part at the end that covers this trial and the list of injuries the girl suffered. I believe the coroner or whoever examined her body said it looked like she was a victim of MAJOR CAR ACCIDENT(I think. It was compared to something that could kill a human being).

 

It is a crock of shit to have this kid get life in prision at an age when he thought his actions weren't bad.

After he was told she was dead, he asked the mom if he could live with her and have the young girl's toys. And even during the trials, he has shown no remorse for what he did, NONE WHATSOEVER. I don't even wact to hear the "Well, he's only 12, maybe he doesn't know what death is" because that's complete bullshit. If being put on trial for what he did didn't clue him in on what a horrible act he committed was wrong, then there's no hope for him and there's no use in even trying rehabilitate him.

 

Should he be punished? Yes. Should he get life at  12 years old? Hell no. Should someone loook into the mental state of the child before any of this goes further? Duh.

Unless he developed a hint of compassion since the initial trials, then there's no reason to check his mental state again because he obviously has NO compassion.

[Guest BDC]

Like I said, the wrestling defense is just a scapegoat move.

 

The girl was beaten, she had bruises all over that matched the size of Tate's fists. Whatever. This is just out and out a beating death. If a twelve year old beats someone to death, with no remorse and isn't punished, guess what? That's what grows up to be a psychopath.

[Lando Griffin 0]

From Foley is Good:

 

According to Tate's attorney, James Lewis, his client was simply "a kid who used poor judgment.  He didn't intend to cause any harm.  He was playing.  He was doing what he had seen on television."  Well, I guess if he was just playing, we ought to excuse him for fracturing little Tiffany Eunick's skull, lacerating her kidney, cracking her rib, and causing over thirty bruises all over her body.  At least that is what Mr. Lewis and Mr. Bozell would like us to do.  Remove the blame from a 170-pound, twelve-year-old boy who bea to death a 48-pound, six-year-old girl and place it squarely on the shoulders of the World Wrestling Federation.

 

Awesome book. The epilogue is a wonderful thrashing of the PTC and their ilk.

 

I hope the World Wildlife Fund doesn't come after me...

[Guest MikeSC]

Like I said, the wrestling defense is just a scapegoat move.

 

The girl was beaten, she had bruises all over that matched the size of Tate's fists. Whatever. This is just out and out a beating death. If a twelve year old beats someone to death, with no remorse and isn't punished, guess what? That's what grows up to be a psychopath.

And if this little thug gets out of jail and kills somebody --- how many of the current people who think he shouldn't be in jail for life will wonder how we could have missed so many red flags about the kid?

 

Some people are just, plain, bad. This little turd is one of them, alas.

-=Mike

[Guest Sagrada3099]

Yeah, I was trying to find my copy of the book earlier this morning, but to no avail. Thanks for bringing the great passage, Lando.

[lomasmoney 0]

He should absolutely be punished, but life in jail for something someone did at age 12 is just wrong. Adults, who kill people on purpose sometimes dont get life in jail, but apparently it's ok for him to get life in jail. So what about those students who shot up their schools and killed multiple people. Did all of them get life in prision. All this KID did was do something really fucking dumb which can't really be helped because he is just a fucking child. Why should the mother go to jail, because she's a hard sleeper, and trust me I've done things in my house that could be heard down the street that my mother didnt hear, so the fact that she slept through it shouldn't be considered. The only thing she is guilty of is that her child took the life of another child and we don't know all the facts about how he was raised so we really can't speculate

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Like I said, the wrestling defense is just a scapegoat move.

 

The girl was beaten, she had bruises all over that matched the size of Tate's fists.  Whatever.  This is just out and out a beating death.  If a twelve year old beats someone to death, with no remorse and isn't punished, guess what?  That's what grows up to be a psychopath.

And if this little thug gets out of jail and kills somebody --- how many of the current people who think he shouldn't be in jail for life will wonder how we could have missed so many red flags about the kid?

 

Some people are just, plain, bad. This little turd is one of them, alas.

-=Mike

I think it's more then simply being a thug. He seems sadistic and scary as all hell. I mean, I can just imagine the guy beating her to death as she's screaming for help. That's WORSE than being a thug. It scares me really, that people can be that cold-blooded.

 

Regardless, I believe that he shouldn't be in prison for the rest of his entire life, as I'm sure there is a chance for rehabilitation. I'm even more sure that most of you disagree with me.

 

Of course, if he does get life, I won't put up a fuss. Everyone has the ability to change, but once you cross a certain line, there's no going back. This kid crossed it.

 

Oh yeah, I also agree that the mom should be put in jail as well.

[AlwaysPissedOff 0]

He should absolutely be punished, but life in jail for something someone did at age 12 is just wrong. Adults, who kill people on purpose sometimes dont get life in jail, but apparently it's ok for him to get life in jail.

Apparently, you can't read very well. He didn't just fuck up and accidentally kill her, to paraphrase Mike, "he fucking MAULED her". The girl was reportedly screaming her lungs out yet he kept on til she stopped breathing and THEN he decided to tell the girl's mom that she'd stopped breathing. In fact, I wouldn't go beyond in saying that this was probably premeditated, as well as the kid strikes as remorsefuless enough to do it. As for giving him life, all murders should get life, IMO. If you're fucked up in the head enough to take another's life, you should lose yours, simple as that.

 

So what about those students who shot up their schools and killed multiple people.  Did all of them get life in prision.

No, most of them killed themselves while lil douchebags like that kid from GA didn't kill anyone.

 

All this KID did was do something really fucking dumb which can't really be helped because he is just a fucking child.

What bullshit. Savagely beating a 6 year old girl to death isn't "really fucking dumb", it's really fucking SICK.

 

Why should the mother go to jail, because she's a hard sleeper, and trust me I've done things in my house that could be heard down the street that my mother didnt hear, so the fact that she slept through it shouldn't be considered.

She wasn't a hard sleeper. The girl's screams woke her up and she yelled "Make her shut up" to Tate(or something to that effect). As far as I'm conscerned, she's a negligent(I just know I spelled that wrong) parent.

 

The only thing she is guilty of is that her child took the life of another child and we don't know all the facts about how he was raised so we really can't speculate

It was her daughter that got killed. Also, most of the facts were printed in Foley's second book, so take some time and read through that before trying to defend this lil shit.