Original Sentence Overturned
After the conviction, the prosecution openly joined Tate's plea for leniency in sentencing, and even offered to help in his appeal. The trial judge criticized the prosecution for compromising the integrity of the adversarial system, and said that if the prosecution felt that life imprisonment was not warranted, they should not have charged him with murder in the first place.
In January 2004, a state appeals court overturned his conviction on the basis that his mental competency had not been evaluated before trial. This opened the way for Tate to accept the same plea deal he originally turned down, and he was released on one year's house arrest and 10 years' probation.
Read more about this topic: Lionel Tate
Famous quotes containing the words original, sentence and/or overturned:
“Painting myself for others, I have painted my inward self with colors clearer than my original ones. I have no more made my book than my book has made me—a book consubstantial with its author, concerned with my own self, an integral part of my life; not concerned with some third-hand, extraneous purpose, like all other books.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
And wretches hang that jurymen may dine.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“An overturned cart is a warning to oncoming drivers.”
—Chinese proverb.