Miami
Lionel Tate, the youngest American ever sentenced to life in prison, has struck a deal to win his release this month, after just three years behind bars. Tate beat Tiffany Eunick, 6, to death in 1999. He was 12. A Florida appeals court overturned his first-degree murder conviction in December, saying he was too young to understand how risky his defense strategy was. Tate had turned down a lenient plea deal, and his defense was that he killed the girl while trying out wrestling moves he’d seen on TV. Rather than face a new trial, Tate agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a promise that he would serve no more time in prison. “It’s about time he comes home,” his mother said.
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