Parole denied for kids who get life

TALLAHASSEE - Republican lawmakers squashed a bill Wednesday that would have given juveniles sentenced to life in prison a ''possibility for redemption,'' even though Gov. Jeb Bush favored the measure.

The bill was inspired by Lionel Tate, thought to be the youngest American ever given a life sentence. He was 12 when he killed 6-year-old playmate Tiffany Eunick in his mother's Pembroke Park home.

After an appeals court overturned the guilty verdict, a plea deal freed Tate from prison in January after serving three years.

But the bill could have affected Miami-Dade teen Michael Hernandez, charged with slitting the throat of middle school classmate Jaime Gough in early February. If convicted of first-degree murder, the 14-year-old would face a mandatory life sentence.

State Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, first proposed the bill three years ago and thought he had a reasonable chance this year after winning the governor's tentative endorsement. However, a Senate committee shot down the measure by a 4-2 vote along party lines.

The measure would have given juveniles serving life sentences a chance at parole after eight years. It would apply only to children under 15 years old with clean records.

But Geller could not muster enough votes for the measure, even after making some changes and pointing to backing from Bush, state prosecutors and public defenders.

''When a 12-year-old commits a crime, no matter how terrible that is, there is a possibility for redemption,'' he told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. ``If you're a gang banger with a record as long as my arm, this doesn't apply. This bill only applies to good kids that commit a completely unexpected act.''

The most passionate objections came from Sen. Victor Crist, a Tampa Republican who has built a career pushing tough-on-crime laws.

He recalled that legislators passed laws bumping juvenile crimes to adult courts in response to shocking murders of tourists by teenage killers in the 1990s. He also described, with horrific detail, the murder of a 65-year-old woman in her home by a 14-year-old currently in prison.

''These are people from the very beginning who have that mean, evil, violent seed in them,'' Crist said. ``You take a person's life, you have to sacrifice your own.''

Though Tiffany Eunick's mother agreed to the plea deal that set Tate free, Crist asked: ``Did anyone ask Tiffany? Was she forgiving? We can't ask Tiffany. She's dead.''

Crist's disapproval was echoed by Sens. Mike Fasano of New Port Richey, Evelyn Lynn of Ormond Beach and Mike Haridopolos of Melbourne. Sens. Rod Smith of Gainesville and Anthony Hill of Jacksonville supported the bill.

Two South Florida legislators missed the vote because they were shepherding their own bills through other committees.

Sen. Mandy Dawson, D-Fort Lauderdale, said she would have voted for the bill. Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, said he would have opposed it.

The Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association backed the bill because it would have affected only a handful of young juveniles who have never been in trouble with the law before.

The group's general counsel, Buddy Jacobs, noted, ``It's not just kids with a clean record, it's a squeaky clean record.''

Election-year politics made the bill a tough sell, Geller said.

''No elected official has never lost reelection because they were considered too tough on crime,'' he said.