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Posted

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

Second chance ends with guilty plea

Freed from life sentence, teen faces 30 years for robbery

 

Wednesday, March 1, 2006; Posted: 2:10 p.m. EST (19:10 GMT)

 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) -- Lionel Tate, who beat and stomped a little girl to death when he was 12, pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbing a pizza delivery man and could be sent back to prison for up to 30 years.

 

The plea bargain spared Tate, 19, from a possible life sentence for violating his probation in the 1999 killing.

 

His attorney, Ellis Rubin, said the evidence in the holdup case was "overwhelming" and that Tate got the best deal he could.

 

The guilty plea is the latest twist in the long-running case that generated debate over youngsters who kill and Florida's tough-on-crime juvenile laws.

 

Tate was convicted in 2001 of first-degree murder in the killing of 6-year-old playmate Tiffany Eunick and became the youngest person in modern U.S. history to receive a life sentence.

 

The boy's lawyers initially claimed that the girl, who suffered skull fractures and a lacerated liver, was accidentally killed while Tate was imitating pro wrestling moves he had seen on television.

 

In 2004, an appeals court threw out the conviction, ruling that it was unclear whether Tate understood what was happening to him. He then pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 10 years' probation.

 

A judge added five years to Tate's probation after he was caught with a knife in 2004. Then, last May, Tate ordered four pizzas from a friend's apartment and then pulled a gun on the delivery man, who dropped the pies and ran, authorities said.

 

Tate could get 10 to 30 years in prison at sentencing April 3.

 

Tate's mother, Florida Highway Patrol trooper Kathleen Grossett-Tate, said she hopes the judge imposes the 10-year minimum.

 

As for her son, "he's as OK as he can be," she said. "It's very emotional."

Posted
Hell with the way things are going I'm shocked Vince hasn't tried to sign a deal with Lionel Tate.

 

We still have the memories of Nathan Jones in our minds. According to the statue of Limitations mentioned by Jim Cornette we have not passed the seven year mark where we can use the angle. And let me say thank God.

Posted

Hell with the way things are going I'm shocked Vince hasn't tried to sign a deal with Lionel Tate.

 

We still have the memories of Nathan Jones in our minds. According to the statue of Limitations mentioned by Jim Cornette we have not passed the seven year mark where we can use the angle. And let me say thank God.

 

Like a statue of limitations on angles has ever stopped Vince.

Posted

Yeah, this fuck needs to go to jail. This is from someone who thought the original sentence they gave him in the wrestling death case was harsh, but at age 19, you really know that pulling guns out and robbing people is wrong. There are no excuses, and they should give him the maximum sentence, he already got one chance to repair his life, but he fucked up again

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/21/lionel.tate/index.html

 

Tate, killer at 12, asks to withdraw new guilty plea

 

Tuesday, March 21, 2006; Posted: 5:41 p.m. EST (22:41 GMT)

 

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Lionel Tate, the youngest person in modern U.S. history to be sentenced to life in prison, has asked to withdraw part of a plea deal he entered earlier this month on unrelated charges, his lawyer told CNN on Tuesday.

 

Tate, now 19, agreed March 1 to plead guilty to one count of armed robbery for holding up a pizza delivery man at gunpoint last year.

 

But in a handwritten letter to Judge Joel Lazarus, Tate wrote, "I really want to withdraw my plea."

 

Tate said he was writing after thinking "long and hard" about the matter, telling the judge it "was not explained to me in great detail on what I can and cannot appeal. fight my robbery charge."

 

Tate wrote, "I know that I can prove to you and to others that I did not commit these crimes I'm being charged with."

 

Tate wants to maintain his no contest plea to the parole violation, said his lawyer, Ellis Rubin.

 

The judge was to decide Tate's sentence on April 3. He faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 30 for armed robbery and the parole violation. Tate has been in custody since his arrest May 24.

 

A hearing has been set for March 31 to hear the arguments on the request, Rubin said.

 

Florida law allows 30 days for pleas to be changed, but withdrawals are rare, Rubin said.

 

The sentencing earlier had been delayed after Tate asked for a competency hearing in December, claiming he was hearing voices and threatening to kill himself. A judge ruled that he was competent to face charges after two psychologists testified that he was faking mental problems.

 

Tate was convicted in 2001 of killing a 6-year-old playmate in 1999, when he was 12, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

 

Tate claimed during his trial in 2001 that he accidentally killed Tiffany Eunick when he imitated wrestling moves he had seen on television.

 

An appeals court overturned his conviction two years ago because Tate was not given a competency hearing.

 

Tate then pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was released on probation.

 

Since his release, Tate has had run-ins with the law. He was arrested for carrying a knife in a park, and investigators said he also took a gun from his mother -- a highway patrol officer -- and fired a shot into the air.

Guest NYankees
Posted

God I hope this fucktard hasn't had children yet. This society really doesn't need his spawn coming into this world and carrying on his retarded genes for years to come.

Posted

This really comes back to the failure of our court system to properly punish people. I think it's been shown time and time again that you can't reform criminals into decent people. It just doesn't happen.

 

If we're not going to execute people in this country, at least put them away for life without parole or put them in work camps so they can pay back society in some fashion.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

30 years is fucking bullshit.

 

Plus, he'll probably onli do a third of the time. If he serves the full entance, I'll be damn surprised.

 

THe son of a bitch should have been a lifer a long time ago.

 

Personally, this fuck is one of the reasons I support the death sentance on certain occassions.

 

I've got boys serving 10 years for bullshit felonies like having an illegal firearm in your house when the cops bust in, and shit like that.

 

Fuckin' judicial system.

 

Yeah, I'll stop bitching now.

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