cfm).
If this had been the child's father who went in and shot .
his son or daughters teacher, he would have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Maybe Nathaniel did not know that shooting someone was wrong or bringing a gun to school was wrong, but because Nathaniel Brazil was not 'old enough' to make the decision between right and wrong, he gets to walk away from this one day as if it never happened. Because children are not as old as adults they are not always tried the same way. Also a child's physical, psychological, and emotional health is taken in to consideration when trying to figure out the proper punishment. Brazil must not have had the same conscience as an adult may have, so he is set free. He was not mentally and emotionally developed enough to know right from wrong in this case. .
In the case of Lionel Tate, he seemed to commit a less harmful act, but was sentenced to life in prison: .
"Lionel Tate, is the 12-year-old boy who killed a little girl while imitating wrestling moves. He was convicted of first-degree murder. To convict Tate of first-degree murder, Florida law did not require the jury to find he actually intended to kill the girl, but only that he intended to commit the acts that led to her death. Under Florida law, Tate's conviction for .
First-degree murder means a mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole." (http://www.njsbf.com/njsbf/student/eagle/fall01-1.cfm.) .
Lionel Tate was simply playing with a little girl and killed her. He has to spend the rest of his life in jail, and will not get out. On the other hand, Nathaniel Brazil knew he was going to bring a gun to school (which is a crime in itself), shot and killed some one! Later, Nathaniel will get out of jail and continue his life as if it had never happened. .
Although this does not seem fair to some people, many people think it is. Some people believe that there are positive outcomes to trying children as juveniles no matter what the offense was.