Florida v. Tate This Bizarre

Florida v. Tate

This bizarre case involved the first-degree murder charges against a juvenile of fourteen years of age. Tate, the juvenile, was found guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of his friend, a young female. The murder happened as a result of Tate using professional wrestling moves on the girl that caused severe injuries and her death. Tate was sentenced to life in prison.

The real question in this case was whether Tate actually intended to kill, or even harm, the victim or whether, as he claims, it was an accident arising out of him not understanding the danger of the professional wrestling moves. This being the case, there were numerous other charges that could have been brought. For example, aggravated assault and/or battery and voluntary/involuntary manslaughter. All of these crimes would serve the purpose of punishing Tate for his irrational actions, but to the extent that recognizes his lack of capacity to understand the consequences of his action.

In terms of defenses, Tate's best defense would have been a lack of mens rea, or the lack of a guilty mind. In order to prove first degree murder, it must be shown that Tate had the intention to kill the girl. If the death occurred as an unintended result of the actions, then a charge of manslaughter would be more appropriate.

Tate's punishment most likely does not violate the Constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment as the Supreme Court has held that even the death penalty does not violate it. However, an argument can most definitely be made that due to Tate's age and the circumstances of the murder, the sentence does not suit the crime.

Florida v. King

In this case, two juvenile brothers murdered their father using a blunt object and then burnt his body to hide the evidence. Alex, the youngest of the brothers, claimed that the murder was done intentionally but was a result of years of abuse, both physical and emotional, by their father. The two were found guilty and were sentenced a serve less than ten years in prison.

Alex King could have also been charged with first degree murder, or charged as an adult, as Tate was. According to Florida law, this would have carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The best defense that could have been used, and ultimately was used by Alex's defense team, was that he acted out of self-defense. Further, he could have used the defense that he was only an accomplice to the act since it was his brother who actually used the blunt object to pummel his father.

Clearly, this punishment does not violate the Constitutional provision against cruel and unusual punishment, although it does bring up questions about the fairness of the laws application between similar cases among the various races.