Another 30 Years

My heart is so heavy this morning. On my way to take my son to school I heard on the radio that Lio.nel Tate was sentenced to 30 years in prison for violating his probation when he robbed a pizza guy at gunpoint. This is the same young boy who gained national attention when he killed a 6 year old playmate in 1999, when he was just 12 years old. He was sentenced to life in prison for that crime, but his sentence was overturned and he regained partial freedom.

Whisper the name Lio.nel Tate and it’s almost like conjuring up a ghost. A certain mystique fills the atmosphere. I remember my friend Chilli and I were chillin out after dark and talking about how some friendships were toxic and she brought up an example of one of her toxic friends.

“You won’t believe what happened. So, this girl calls me and tells me she wants to hang out. Since I had been avoiding her for so long I decided to get it over with and go see her. When I get to her house she says we have to make a quick stop to pick up her friend before we go get some herb right. So I say okay and she tells me where to go. We both get out and walk up to this guy’s house and the guy opens the door. We walk in and I walk up to him and say, ‘Hi, I’m Chilli. What’s your name?’ Girl, the dude just looks at me and doesn’t say anything. I’m thinking to myself, ‘He is kinda rude.’ But I don’t say anything and we get in my car and go get some and when I’m about to drop him back off I hear her say, ‘I’ll see you later Lio.nel.’ Girl! The first thing that came to my mind when I heard that name was Lio.nel Tate. So I asked her was that him and she said Yes.”

“HELL NAW!” I whispered and looked over my shoulder in case somehow he was standing outside my window and could hear us. “Lio.nel Tate was in your car?!”

“YES! And she didn’t even TELL ME! She had me go and pick up a CONVICTED KILLER who is still on house arrest and ride around with him in my car and didn’t even tell me!”

I almost faint.

Lio.nel Tate.

~shivers~

“Girl, let’s not say that name again okay? I don’t know why. But I get scared and I live alone.”

“Yeah. I understand.”

Man… When I think of him I think of my two sons and how the choices they make will affect them for the rest of their lives. I do not think this young boy meant to kill that little girl. I think he was acting out his aggression a little too roughly and was unaware of the repercussions of his actions. Once he got caught up in the system and was labeled a killer, it all went downhill from there.

Once you give a child a label, they cling to it. From a young age we are all trying to understand who we are and why we are placed in this world. Remember the movie Unbreakable? That was the point of the movie. Mr. Glass could not understand why he was born with such an affirmity so he set out to experiment (by killing people) so that he could make sense of his tragic life.

We put this boy behind bars. We labeled him and told him he was worthless. We told him that his irresponsible actions were enough to ruin his life forever. We made sure he knew that he could never be forgiven or receive a second chance in life. His name will always be synonymous with murder.

In essence, his life was over years ago. He has just been idly riding the wave of life, waiting for an end to his misery.

Although he may never walk the streets again, I pray that God grants him freedom in his mind. I hope that God speaks to him and cleanses his soul. I hope he receives all the love he needs from our Father.

I weep for you Lio.nel.