Jeana (DP)
Former Member
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - 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.
Article at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&u=/ap/20031210/ap_on_re_us/wrestling_death_4
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.
Article at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&u=/ap/20031210/ap_on_re_us/wrestling_death_4