Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Lionel Tate
In class, we recently learned about Lionel Tate and the murder of Tiffany Eunick. Lionel was 12 years old when he beat 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick to death. When he was put on trial, Lionel was indicted for first-degree murder and second-degree murder. At the trial, Lionel and his attorney tried to win this case by saying that Lionel was pretending to wrestle with Tiffany and that's when she hurt because of it. Eventually, in the trial, the wrestling claim didn't work and he was sentenced to life in prison. They then appealed this, so Lionel and his attorney managed to get a plea deal that had 10 years of probation so his life wasn't ruined. At the end of this, was Lionel given what he deserved or should he have gotten more or less of a punishment?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I don't think it was fair of the justice system to try him as an adult and also charge him with first degree murder. While there could have been a motive behind the murder I don't think that is what Lionel was thinking when he did it. I also don't think it was premeditated meaning it wouldn't be first degree murder.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jamie – Lionel Tate was only twelve at the time of the crime and therefore could not have fully understood what he was doing or how much force he was using. Trying him as an adult was unfair since he didn't have a motive or plan to kill the young girl.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Lionel was really planning to kill someone, nor do I think it was fair to try him as an adult. He did commit a very serious crime, but I don't think he was treated fairly in the justice system. I also feel like his mother should have been charged because she heard screaming and did nothing about it. I wonder if she had more to do with the case then some thought.
ReplyDelete