When is it justified for minors to be charged as adults?
Lionel Tate was 13 when he was accused of brutally murdering his childhood friend, 6-year-old Tiffany Eunich. Lionel was a large kid, standing taller than his peers, yet he had never shown any previous aggression and had never been in trouble with the law. One night, as his mother slept upstairs, Lionel Tate had said he had been rough-housing with Tiffany until she said that she was tired and laid down. A few moments after she was on the ground, Lionel noticed something was wrong with Tiffany and called his mother out of her room. Tiffany was not breathing anymore and had a slow pulse. Immediately his mother dialed 911 which resulted in Paramedics taking Tiffany to the hospital. She was pronounced dead later on, and Lionel had been accused of murdering the girl. He kept to his story of rough-housing, yet the courts did not sympathize with him. Lionel was 100 pounds and almost a foot and a half taller than the little girl, and the story that the prosecution told swayed the judge to try him as an adult. Lionel was found guilty to first-degree murder and is now serving a life sentence with no parole. I believe that although Lionel is guilty of killing his friend, whether it was an accident or on purpose, he should not have been tried as an adult, as his life as a free man is over at a young age. This case showed a flaw in our justice system, and I believe that minors, especially at the age of 13 and no previous record, should not be tried as adults until absolutely necessary.
I agree with your perspective on this case and I also don't think that minors should be tried as adults. This is similar to the case I'm researching for me research project, I learned that there is actually improvement int he judicial system in getting the US closer to not trying minors as adults. In 2005 it was abolished to give a minor the death sentence and from 1976 there were 22 executions of minors. This also meant that any minors that had previously been on death row were removed and now would instead be serving a different sentence.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your outlook on the situation, and the fact that Lionel should not have been charged as an adult simply because of the facts of the case. Rough housing is a very common activity between all children, and they never know when to stop until an adult figure who is supervising tells them to. I personally think that if Lionel Tate would have used a weapon to kill the young girl, it would have proven intent to purposely kill and would have then been a justification for the decision of being tried as an adult at the age of 13. But, rough housing is what children do, and therefor, it is unjust that he is sentenced for his entire life with no parole, for something done when he did not know any better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Rocky. I feel like there is a gap in the sentences that are passed on to kids. Tate either was in a situation where his sentence would have been too light or the sentence would have been too heavy. I think that in cases such as Lionel they deserve sentences that put them in juvenile hall at the beginning and when they reach the age of adultery. They are transferred over to adult prisons and such. I also feel like the Florida law allowed for this too happen with such extremes for consequences. Tate was at an age in his life where he was still very much developing mentally and could still clearly be a productive member of society with the right care considering that I believe Tate was not attempting 1st degree murder. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I do not think that minors should ever be tried as adults. Minors are minors because they have less experience than adults let alone their brains are not even close to developed. Also, fact check, Lionel is not serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, he was granted parole. Despite that he is still in jail for holding up a convenience store. Minors do not do well in jail and are intimidated and traumatized because they are smaller.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with your argument. This points out a big flaw in our justice system as I believe the only time minors should be tried as adults is if it can be proven that they premeditated a murder. In this case, Lionel was only playing with Tiffany and did not have an intention to physically hurt her, let alone kill her. When she told him to stop he listened; these are not the actions of a murder, but a child attempting to have fun with a friend.
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