The Murder

There is so much to be upset about in the case of Lionel Tate that it is hard to know where to begin. For those of you who don’t remember, in 1999 a 12–year old, 150 pound Lionel Tate beat, slugged and slammed 48–pound 6–year old Tiffany Eunick until she suffered fatal injuries not even seen in car crashes. In the brutal assault, Tate smashed Tiffany’s skull, pulverized her liver, broke a rib and caused numerous cuts and bruises. Experts compared the trauma to falling from a three-story building.

How repentant was Lionel?

The victim’s mother said that when she returned to the boy’s home the night of Tiffany’s death, she broke the news that the girl he had beaten had died. Tate responded by shrugging his shoulders and rolling his eyes.  The next day, when Lionel and his mother came to her apartment, Tate even asked if he could have the girl’s toys since she wouldn’t be coming home. 

The Defense:

“It’s all in good fun and no one gets hurt,” Tate’s attorney said. “Children are very susceptible to that.”  Jim Lewis, Tate’s trial attorney, had mounted a defense that Tiffany’s injuries, which included a fractured skull, fractured rib and severed liver, were caused by horseplay or Tate mimicking pro wrestlers. A jury rejected the defense after hearing, even from a defense witness, that the injuries could not have been accidental.

Lewis continued… “the prosecution’s case is “an attempt to place malice (on Lionel) that he did not have, for intent he did not have. This was child’s play and unfortunately child’s play is sometimes dangerous.”

The Mother:

Tate’s mother, Grossett-Tate, is a real piece of work and in a perfect world she’d be guilty of something. She testified that she took a nap and did not come downstairs when she heard noises and Tiffany crying. Instead, she called down for Tiffany to be quiet or she would “beat her butt.” She also reportedly cleaned up the crime scene and did not accurately report what had happened to paramedics at the scene.

Grossett-Tate was part of the brain trust that rejected a plea bargain and instead decided to face trial. To no one’s real surprise, he was found guilty. Instead of life, the defense could have had a plea bargain of three years in a juvenile facility and ten years probation.

The Nation of Islam:

The Grossett-Tate family was protected by security guards from the Nation of Islam. (Boy these guys sure know how to pick them.)

The Liberal Reaction:

On Larry King Live, Amnesty International USA Executive Director William Schulz condemned Florida’s statutes in this vein as “a violation of international law” that “ruins the United States’ reputation in the eyes of the international community.” Tate’s supporters lobbied Governor Jeb Bush, Pope John Paul II and the United Nations to intervene. 

What Happened Next:

An appeals court threw out Tate’s first-degree murder conviction and mandatory life sentence.  He left prison January 2004 to spend the next year on house arrest, only allowed to leave for school, church and other previously approved outings.

The Liberal Blogs Reaction to His Release:

Talk Left: “Really good news. The prosecutors in the Lionel Tate case have re-offered him the deal his mother turned down for him prior to trial. In three months he’ll be out of prison…”

And How Did Lionel and His Mom Treat His Second Chance at Life:

To the surprise of no one with even half a brain, Tate has already violated the terms of his parole twice in the 15 months since he got out of prison. Most recently, he held up a pizza delivery man at gun point (likely with his mother’s gun). 

Lionel’s Lawyers and Mom Sure Must Be Embarrassed:

Here is what Richard Rosenbaum, Tate’s Fort Lauderdale lawyer has to say, “Lionel’s not guilty. He just needs a chance to live his life.” Rosenbaum said this despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary including: Lionel’s fingerprint on a pizza box, a bullet tucked under his mattress and two eyewitness accounts fingering him as the gunman.

At least Tate’s mom would only said “no comment” while watching her shackled son being ushered into court.

As said at the beginning of this post, there is a lot to be upset about with this case. A mother so clueless that she yells at a 6–year old girl to shut up while the girl is fighting for her life. This is the same mom who makes her handgun collection accessible to the convicted murderer who lives with her. Defense attorneys who bungle the plea bargain so bad that it becomes a liberal cause celebre. The liberal elite who think it’s terrible that a government could be so cruel in its punishment of the little murderer. But, most of all, Mr. Tate deserves the greatest scorn. If one is so dumb or morally corrupt that they take their mother’s pistol and rob a pizza man in broad daylight while under house arrest for murder, then there is simply no hope you will ever fit into society. Sorry, end of story.

Update (December 05): Lionel’s 18 and back in court for hearings however the proceedings have been interrupted because he reports “hearing voices in his head telling him to commit suicide.” In addition to robbing the pizza delivery person other allegations have been plying up on Tate including that he gave one of his friends a gun (most likely one of his mother’s). You have have convicted murderer who has also committed armed robbery still having access to guns in the house. Nice mom. It is certainly possible that Lionel is faking his most recent “voices in the head” condition. He wrote a letter to a judge stating “I feel that my attorney doesn’t know my mental condition. He stated to me that I don’t have a problem.” To us it looks like he had help writing this particularly when the letter cites a Florida law relating to competency proceedings (not the kind of thing that someone who “doesn’t know what is happening to him” would do, more like just gaming the system…again).

Lionel was competent enough to beat a little girl to death, he was competent enough to access his mother’s pistol (on multiple occasions it turns out), so he’s competent enough to serve his time.

Then again maybe he is hearing voices. Perhaps he hears dead people and this time it’s little Tiffany Eunick calling out from the grave.

What others are saying: Colossus of Rhodey Brainster

technorati: Lionel Tate

This entry was posted on Monday, June 6th, 2005 at 11:18 pm by Insider and is filed under Politically Correct ... and stupid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.