Lionel Tate's Lawyer Says Mother OKs Plea Deal

[Walter Cronkite]

An older Lionel Tate, in his prison clothes, was photographed in February of 2003.

The mother of a teenager who once received a life sentence for murdering a 6-year-old playmate has approved a plea bargain that could allow the boy to be released in the next month, an attorney said Wednesday.
Richard Rosenbaum, Lionel Tate's attorney, said the teenager had been awaiting his mother's approval and estimated his client could be released from prison by Jan. 29.

''Lionel Tate is ready to move onto the next stage of his life,'' Rosenbaum said.

Tate was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole - a punishment that set off worldwide criticism over the Florida's treatment of juveniles.

The 16-year-old's lawyers argued that Tate was imitating the pro wrestling moves he saw on television and did not mean to kill Tiffany Eunick, a 48-pound girl who was punched, kicked and stomped to death. Tate, then 12, weighed 170 pounds at the time.

A state appeals court threw out the conviction and sentence in December, saying Tate's mental competency should have been tested before trial.

Lawyers then began working on a plea deal that ended up being identical to one Tate and his mother, Kathleen Grossett-Tate, declined before his 2001 trial.

The deal would let him plead guilty to second-degree murder and serve only the remaining three months of a three-year prison sentence, followed by house arrest and probation. Rosenbaum did not say why he expects Tate to be released before the three months is up.

''I am thrilled that Lionel's mother agreed that it's better to be locked in one's home rather than jail when you're still only a child,'' Rosenbaum said.

Michael Hursey, a lawyer advising Grossett-Tate, said he could not immediately comment. Henry Hunter, a lawyer also advising Tate's mother, did not immediately return a message on his cell phone or at his law firm.

Grossett-Tate's lawyers had said she preferred her son be allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter instead of second-degree murder.

Grossett-Tate was expected to visit her son this weekend in a maximum-security juvenile prison before he signed the deal, Rosenbaum said.

''He grieves everyday over Tiffany's death and will think of her and the terrible tragedy for the rest of his life,'' Rosenbaum said.

The phone at the Broward State Attorney's office rang unanswered after hours Wednesday. Former prosecutor Ken Padowitz, who tried Tate and now represents Tiffany's mother Deweese Eunick-Paul in private practice, did not immediately return a phone message.

Source: AP