US court orders new trial for boy killer jailed for life

A FLORIDA appeals court ordered a new trial yesterday for 16-year-old Lionel Tate, who was convicted of murdering a six-year-old girl four years ago and is serving a life sentence.

During the trial, lawyers for Tate argued that the killing of Tiffany Eunick was an accident that happened when Tate imitated wrestling moves he had seen on television. Prosecutors argued that the boy repeatedly beat the girl.

The case sparked intense controversy over whether a child Tate was only 12 at the time of the killing of playmate Eunick should be prosecuted as an adult and sentenced to life without parole.

The 4th District Court of Appeal said in a written ruling that given his young age, Tate should have been evaluated to see if he was competent to consult with his lawyer and to understand the proceedings against him.

Tate was tried and convicted of first-degree murder by a Broward County court in 2001 and subsequently sentenced to life without parole.

In their ruling, the appellate judges said that in the trial, "the evidence was clear that the victim was brutally slain, suffering as many as thirty-five injuries.

"It was undisputed that it would take tremendous force to inflict those injuries."

An attorney who led the appeal against Tate's conviction, Richard Rosenbaum, told CNN, "we're ecstatic."

"I couldn't see a child going to jail for the rest of his life for something that happened when he was 12 years old," he said.

The appeal was supported by several juvenile justice groups.