Clemency Appeal In Florida

Supporters of a teenager sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of a 6-year-old pleaded for clemency Wednesday in a meeting with a lawyer for Gov. Jeb Bush.

Lionel Tate, 16, was 12 in 1999 when he killed Tiffany Eunick, a girl his mother was baby-sitting. Two years later he was convicted of first-degree murder as an adult, and he is now living in a maximum-security juvenile prison.

"He's remorseful about what happened to Tiffany and he's just hopeful that the governor will grant clemency," his mother, Kathleen Grossett-Tate, told reporters after meeting with Wendy Berge of the governor's legal office.

Two South Florida ministers also attended the meeting, as did a Jacksonville attorney who is on the board of directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The group said they took about 1,500 petitions supporting clemency to the meeting; included were letters from NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and the World Council of Churches.

Bush told reporters earlier Wednesday that he would treat the Tate clemency application like any other.

Bush also said he will be reviewing Tate's behavior. Two years ago, the governor refused to consider Tate's clemency application because of behavioral problems reported by prison officials.

The governor and Cabinet, which operate as the Clemency Board, are to meet in mid-June and again in September.

Tate originally claimed that he accidentally killed Tiffany while imitating professional wrestling moves he'd seen on television. He now says he the girl lay at the bottom of a staircase he walked down before he accidentally jumped on top of her. Tate weighed more than 160 pounds; Tiffany weighed about 50 pounds.

Experts testified at Tate's trial that Tiffany died of a fractured skull and lacerated liver suffered during a beating that lasted from one to five minutes.

By Jackie Hallifax