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| Legislator proposes-8-year minimum for child criminals sentenced to life |
| By South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
| Published: 01/12/2004 |
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Juvenile offenders such as Lionel Tate, who is expected to leave prison after serving three years for the murder of a 6-year-old playmate, would be kept behind bars for at least eight years under a proposal by a Broward County (Fla.) legislator. Sen. Steve Geller said child murderers should spend time behind bars but also need a chance for parole, especially if they have committed no other violent crimes. Tate, who was 12 when he murdered Tiffany Eunick while trying professional wrestling moves, was sentenced to life without parole. But he won release from prison after the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned his first-degree murder conviction in December. The court cited his "extremely young age" and lack of a prior record, and said the trial court should have done more to determine whether he was competent to understand his case. "We need to understand that children are not just short adults," said Geller, D-Hallandale Beach. "We need to understand the worldwide outrage that occurred when a 12-year-old child, who had the intellect probably of a 9- or 10-year-old was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole." A deal to which the victim's mother agreed allowed Tate, now 16, to plead guilty to second-degree murder. He is expected to leave prison later this month. When Tate became the youngest defendant in the country to be sentenced to life without parole, Geller said the state's juvenile justice system "eluded common sense." He called his proposal a middle ground that ensures substantial prison time but also offers a second chance to youthful offenders. Under Geller's bill (SB 530), children under 16 who have been convicted of a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment would be eligible for parole as long as they had never been previously convicted of a felony. The child would have to be imprisoned in a juvenile offender center for eight years and only then could be considered for parole. "We must find a reasonable approach where justice is served and our humanity is kept intact," Geller said. "This is the middle ground. You're not automatically letting them out in eight years, you're just making them eligible for parole." Florida law gives prosecutors two choices for children charged with major crimes: Prosecute them as juveniles or adults. If they are tried and convicted as juveniles, they can be out on the street at 18. If tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder, they must serve life without parole. |
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