Saying he must follow the law, a Broward judge sentenced Lionel Tate to life in prison Friday for a murder he said was "cold, callous and indescribably cruel" and slammed the prosecutor for offering to seek clemency for the 14-year-old.



But that effort was already moving forward Friday as Gov. Jeb Bush signaled he would be willing to hear a clemency request for Tate, who was found guilty of the 1999 murder of Tiffany Eunick, 6, when he was 12.



Broward County Judge Joel T. Lazarus rejected requests from the defense to reduce the verdict or order a new trial, saying the prosecution proved its case. There were no legal grounds for him to impose anything less than the mandatory life sentence, he said, adding that it is up to legislators to make the law and judges to follow it.



"The evidence of Lionel Tate's guilt is clear, obvious and indisputable," Lazarus said, dismissing any suggestion that Tate accidentally killed Tiffany while mimicking pro wrestlers.



"Those not present in court who defend the actions of Lionel Tate as accidental simply did not see or hear the evidence of guilt," the judge said.



Lazarus criticized almost everyone involved in the case during the sentencing, parts of which were covered live on CNN and Court TV. But he was especially scathing about prosecutor Ken Padowitz's plan to lobby for a lesser sentence.



"It not only casts the prosecutor in a light totally inconsistent with his role in the criminal justice system, but it makes the whole court process seem like a game, where if the results are unfavorable, they'll run to a higher source to seek a different result," Lazarus said. "A trial is not a test balloon, sent up to see what may happen. And if the results displease both sides, so be it: This is what our jury system is about."



But Padowitz said he would immediately take the extremely unusual action of asking Bush and the Cabinet to begin clemency proceedings to reduce Tate's sentence. He cited Tate's age at the time of the murder and the other unusual circumstances of the case.



"That by no means is an indication that I don't believe the jury's verdict was correct," Padowitz added. He said that as well as prosecuting offenders, he has an ethical duty to make sure that justice is done and said he feels that getting a lesser sentence for Tate is the right thing to do.



Gov. Bush said Friday that he wants Tate to be housed in a juvenile facility and that he is willing to hear a request for clemency. The governor and six-member, elected Cabinet sit as the state clemency board and meet every three months. For anyone to get clemency, the governor must take the initiative and get three members of the Cabinet to support him.



"We'll be in a position to accept a clemency request. I am troubled by this. This is a tragic case," Bush said. "I won't tell you what's in my gut until we get the clemency request. It breaks my heart to see these outbreaks of violence that are senseless. It's clear this is an act that made no sense at all."



Bush said it was too soon to say when the clemency board would handle the case and whether or not it would be done on an emergency basis.



Almost as soon as Tate was returned to the Broward County Jail after sentencing, he was turned over to the Department of Corrections at the South Florida Reception Center in Miami with unusual speed, his attorneys said. They said they hope he will be put in protective custody away from the adult population at the center.



"We are very concerned for his safety in the adult system," said Jim Lewis, one of Tate's attorneys.



From the reception center, where inmates from South Florida are housed before they are assigned to prisons, state officials will have to decide whether Tate will be held in the juvenile system or in an adult prison.



Observers in the courtroom sat in almost total silence as the judge read his strongly worded 18-page sentencing order Friday.



The victim's mother, Deweese Eunick-Paul, who declined to speak at the sentencing and said she did not want to comment later, sat quietly in the courtroom. She indicated to the judge in a pre-sentencing report that she did not want Tate to serve life in an adult prison for her daughter's murder, the defense team said.



When Lazarus announced his decision, some of Tate's supporters began to wail and three people shouted abuse at the judge. Tate began to cry and his mother, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kathleen Grossett-Tate, jumped from her seat and went to stand as close to her son as she could get.



The victim's father, Mark James, said "Thank you" in a low voice when he heard the sentence. Eunick-Paul showed no visible reaction.



As she left the courthouse, Grossett-Tate repeated what she said she told her son in court after he was sentenced. "Judge Lazarus spoke today, but Jesus Christ is going to speak in the next round," she said.



Tiffany's July 1999 death at Tate's Pembroke Park home followed a severe beating that even a defense expert testified was no accident. She suffered more than 30 injuries, including one that detached part of her liver, a fractured skull, a fractured rib, brain swelling and numerous bruises and scratches.



The case drew international attention because of the defendant's youth and the so-called wrestling defense offered by Tate's attorney.



It drew protests from local community groups, religious organizations and the human rights watchdog Amnesty International, which said that it is inhumane to sentence a juvenile to life in prison for an offense committed when he was 12.



But others felt that the penalty for Tiffany's brutal death should be life in prison, regardless of the defendant's age. And many people expressed anger that Tiffany often seemed to be forgotten in the rush of concern for Tate.



Tate's attorneys Lewis and Richard Rosenbaum said they will immediately get to work on seeking clemency for Tate and filing an appeal on his behalf to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.



"We're going to continue fighting on for Lionel," Lewis said. "Nobody is going to abandon this kid."



In his sentencing order, Lazarus chided the defense and Tate's mother for rejecting a pre-trial plea offer from the prosecutor. The deal would have sent Tate to a juvenile facility for three years followed by a year of house arrest, 10 years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service and psychological testing and treatment.



For Grossett-Tate to suggest that she did not know what penalty her son was facing for first-degree murder was "beyond credibility," he said.



The judge also blasted state prosecutors for any implication that they had not expected to get a first-degree murder and said they could have reduced the charge at any point before trial.



"They got what they wanted. They now have to take responsibility for their actions in seeking it in the first place," Lazarus said.



The judge said that if he sentenced Tate to a lesser penalty, he might perhaps be perceived as a hero to those who wanted him to act out of sympathy. But if he did so, he said, he would be disregarding the oath he took to uphold state law.



Lazarus also asked for guidance from the appellate courts on whether courts should permit prosecutors to charge one juvenile with aggravated child abuse on another juvenile.



"Other cases similar in many respects to that of Lionel Tate's will appear in the future, unfortunately and without a doubt," Lazarus wrote. "And the prosecuting authorities will be wise to heed the voices being raised, and examine their criteria in prosecuting 12-year-old boys and girls. Make no mistake: This court does consider a 12-year-old a boy or a girl, regardless of the crime he or she commits."



Tallahassee Bureau Chief Linda Kleindienst and staff writer Andreas Tzortzis contributed to this report.



Paula McMahon can be reached at pmcmahon@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4533