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gotmilk
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can see dead people...hopefully himself. Boy..another shining moment in the career of Jeb Bush.
A Florida man who made history as the youngest person to ever receive a life sentence for murder says he is "hearing voices" and wants to kill himself, prompting a delay in his probation violation hearing Monday.
Teen killer Lionel Tate, 18, appeared in Broward County Circuit Court Monday morning for a hearing on allegations that he held up a pizza deliveryman at gunpoint on May 23, violating his probation for the so-called "wrestling death" of 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick in 1999, when he was just 12.
The hearing was halted when Circuit Court Judge Joel Lazarus told the court that on Friday he received a letter from Tate requesting a competency hearing before continuing with the proceedings.
Lazarus said he took immediate action, ordering a jailhouse psychological evaluation for Tate, but told the court that the psychologist was unavailable to present the findings until Dec. 19.
Lazarus said he would reserve further action regarding Tate's probation until the outcome of the competency hearing. He also sealed a letter from the psychologist regarding the findings until the competency hearing.
"The letter ... states in part that he is asking for a competency hearing because he is both hearing voices and 'I want to kill myself,'" said Lazarus, who in 2001 sentenced Tate, then 13, to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder.
Tate's conviction was overturned in 2003 by Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals, which specifically cited the lower court's failure to hold competency hearings for Tate both before his trial and after his conviction.
Following his successful appeal, Tate pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, for which Lazarus sentenced him to three years in a juvenile facility — most of which he had already served — one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.
Tate's transition from state custody to citizen life in 2004, however, has not been a smooth one.
A few months after his release, Tate was caught wandering the streets after his curfew with a 4-inch knife.
Lazarus placed the 17-year-old on five extra years of zero-tolerance probation for the violation.
Then, on May 23, Tate was arrested for allegedly robbing Domino's Pizza deliveryman Walter Gallardo at the home of a friend.
Tate faces anywhere from more probation to a possible life sentence on four charges stemming from the alleged robbery. He also faces unrelated charges of possession of a firearm in early 2005 and criminal mischief while incarcerated for the alleged armed robbery.
More trial and crime news from Court TV
A Florida man who made history as the youngest person to ever receive a life sentence for murder says he is "hearing voices" and wants to kill himself, prompting a delay in his probation violation hearing Monday.
Teen killer Lionel Tate, 18, appeared in Broward County Circuit Court Monday morning for a hearing on allegations that he held up a pizza deliveryman at gunpoint on May 23, violating his probation for the so-called "wrestling death" of 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick in 1999, when he was just 12.
The hearing was halted when Circuit Court Judge Joel Lazarus told the court that on Friday he received a letter from Tate requesting a competency hearing before continuing with the proceedings.
Lazarus said he took immediate action, ordering a jailhouse psychological evaluation for Tate, but told the court that the psychologist was unavailable to present the findings until Dec. 19.
Lazarus said he would reserve further action regarding Tate's probation until the outcome of the competency hearing. He also sealed a letter from the psychologist regarding the findings until the competency hearing.
"The letter ... states in part that he is asking for a competency hearing because he is both hearing voices and 'I want to kill myself,'" said Lazarus, who in 2001 sentenced Tate, then 13, to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder.
Tate's conviction was overturned in 2003 by Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals, which specifically cited the lower court's failure to hold competency hearings for Tate both before his trial and after his conviction.
Following his successful appeal, Tate pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, for which Lazarus sentenced him to three years in a juvenile facility — most of which he had already served — one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.
Tate's transition from state custody to citizen life in 2004, however, has not been a smooth one.
A few months after his release, Tate was caught wandering the streets after his curfew with a 4-inch knife.
Lazarus placed the 17-year-old on five extra years of zero-tolerance probation for the violation.
Then, on May 23, Tate was arrested for allegedly robbing Domino's Pizza deliveryman Walter Gallardo at the home of a friend.
Tate faces anywhere from more probation to a possible life sentence on four charges stemming from the alleged robbery. He also faces unrelated charges of possession of a firearm in early 2005 and criminal mischief while incarcerated for the alleged armed robbery.
More trial and crime news from Court TV
