Reference no: EM133418431

Question: One day in July 1999, 12-year-old Lionel Tate killed 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick by stomping on her. Apparently imitating professional wrestling moves he had seen on television, Tate fractured the girl's skull and damaged her internal organs. Tate was tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder. When he was sentenced to life in prison without parole, he became the youngest person in the country to be serving that sentence. You can view the background story here Case of Lionel Tate. Tate's case raised important questions.

First, is it appropriate to try a 12-year-old as an adult and give him such a severe sentence? Second, Tate had a history of aggression and other behavioral problems. Why had the educational, social service, and juvenile justice systems failed to stop Tate's behavior? In addition, many critics claimed that the harsh treatment inflicted on Tate-an African American-was just an extreme example of the justice system's pervasive mistreatment of Blacks. Even the prosecutor protested Tate's severe sentence. In January 2004, Tate's conviction was overturned because his competency had not been evaluated before he was tried. Instead of being retried, he accepted the plea deal he had initially been offered, but that his mother had rejected, of 1 year of house arrest plus 10 years of probation. Within a year, Tate had violated probation by leaving his house with a knife, and 5 years were added to his probation term.

Only a few months later, Tate robbed a pizza deliveryman at gunpoint. He received a 30-year prison sentence for unlawful gun possession and 10 years for the robbery. Clearly his experience with incarceration had done little to rehabilitate him-and may have taught him criminal behavior. If you had been the prosecutor in the Lionel Tate case, how would you have handled the case?

Would you have referred it to juvenile court or to an adult court? State your reasons. What role do you think Tate's race played in the way he was processed in the criminal justice system? Do you think Tate's later criminal behavior would have been prevented by a juvenile court proceeding and disposition (sentencing)? Why or why not?