While Lionel Tate “unknowingly” killed 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick while they were roughhousing, Phillips consciously murdered Clifton to hide the fact that he had hurt her. Also unlike Tate, Phillips had no history of violence. However, despite the differences in their situations, both were charged with first degree murder, tried as adults, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Back in 1999, life in prison without parole was an automatic sentence. However, in 2017, Phillips went back to court to be re-sentenced. With more scientific research on the development of adolescent brain, the automatic life sentence for first degree murder in Florida has been repealed. So, 600 such cases are being re-sentenced based on their rehabilitation in prison and the circumstances behind the crime.
Twenty percent of the child killers, including Phillips, were once again sentenced to life in prison. Phillips’s judge cited the “coldness” and brutality of his crime as well as Phillip’s “detachment” and inability to make eye contact during the original trial. Because of this, the judge feared letting Phillips loose into society.
Even though Phillips wasn’t released, I am glad that these child killers are being re-sentenced. I think it is unjust to send them to prison for the rest of their lives before their lives have even started. I also think it is completely unfair that child killers are recognized as adults to be punished, but they aren’t recognized as adults to make their own decisions. For example, Tate’s mom made the decision over whether to accept the plea deal. I just wish the justice system could decide whether they want to treat kids like kids or like adults.
Sources:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/kids-who-kill-shootings-stranglings-8753436
https://www.jacksonville.com/news/public-safety/2017-11-17/judge-decides-life-sentence-warranted-joshua-phillips-maddie-clifton-s
I completely agree that child killers should be re-tried, because they have a right to be rehabilitated or prove that they can belong in society. However, Phillips doesn't fit into this category. Phillips was worried about what his abusive father was going to do, a justified reaction, he was not justified in murdering Clifton. While a life sentence in prison might not have been necessary since Phillips was so young, his apparent lack of remorse in his re-trial shows that a life sentence may be necessary because he could kill again.
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