Court Case Of Lionel Tate

“Politicians claim that the public has demanded “get-tough” policies, but this demand may often be a transitory response to a highly publicized juvenile crime” (Scott and Steinberg, 2008).
January usually represents a new beginning, positive outlook, new goals and shedding last year shortcomings. This was not the case for Lionel Tate, who is the youngest American sentenced to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole, at the impressionable age of thirteen. Lionel, who was tried as an adult, was convicted of the first-degree murder of his playmate who he viewed as his little sister, six-year-old Tiffany Eunick, on July 28, 1999, in Broward County Florida.
In Pembroke Park Florida Kathleen Grossett-Tate, Lionel mother was asked

Kathleen was outraged and rejected the offer (since Lionel was a minor, he had no choice in the matter but to only agree with his mother decision) in hopes for an acquittal during the trial, knowing that 1st-degree felony murder carried a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without a chance of parole. Trial ensued. The defense position was Tiffany death was an accident influenced by Lionel mimicking wrestling moves as seen on television. The verdict-guilty of first-degree felony murder (the statue – felony murder rule in Florida required the jury to convict Lionel of first-degree felony murder). Judge Lazarus stated, “Tiffany's death was not, as the defense had argued, child's play turned deadly; The acts of Lionel Tate were not the playful acts of a child, the acts of Lionel Tate were cold, callous and indescribably cruel'', (Canedy, 2001). After receiving criticism from many people including the prosecution, on the treatment of juvenile offenders in the state of Florida, Judge Lazarus unphased, rejected any notion of leniency in Lionel sentencing including the Bishops of Episcopal Dioceses, “We are not excusing his actions,” the bishops’ letter says, “but we believe the judgment is disproportionate in the case of a minor and punishment is cruel and unusual”, (Anglican Journal,

Sutherland Differential Association Theory says, “people learn how to behave by modeling themselves after others whom they have the opportunity to observe” (Tittle, Burke, and Jackson, 1986). Ronald L. Akers and Robert L Burgess Differential Reinforcement Theory, drawn from Sutherland’s theory, proclaims primary learning takes place through operant conditioning. “Criminal behavior is learned according to the principles of operant conditioning” (Burgess, Akers 1966:137). Operant behaviors can involve conditioning, shaping, stimulus control and extinction (Burgess, Akers 1966:133-134). Sutherland, Akers and Burgess theories give a correlating perspective into the Lionel Tate Case. Lionel mother was the dominating factor as a role model for the majority of his life (aside from when he was relocated to live with family in Mississippi by his mother). What she modeled, he displayed: blaming others in school for his disruptive behavior, just as the mother did when she showed up at his school numerous times blaming others, instead of correcting her son