Tate, who was taken from his abusive mother when he was 3 and spent the rest of his life in a series of social services placements and mental institutions, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity....ate's severe mental illness caused caseworkers to terminate the adoption.

Doctors who cared for Tate over the years characterized him during the trial as the "craziest" child they had ever seen.

Tate was acquitted of first degree murder and convicted of felony murder. Sounds like the jury believed he wasn't the killer, the victim's son, who got a plea deal for 62 years in exchange for testifying against Tate, was the killer.

But in a letter to the Rocky Mountain News, Tate said that he defended himself with a shovel when Steven Fitzgerald began hitting him with a scooter. Tate said that Michael Fitzgerald insisted that no one would be home that day.

"I did what I had to do to protect myself from his dad," Tate said. "I feel badly for what happend (sic) that day. I wish it never happend. But I did the right thing. I protected myself from possibly being killed. I couldnt escape and I was traped (sic)."

The first-degree murder acquittal shows that the jury believed that Michael Fitzgerald, not Tate, caused his father's death, defense attorney Shawna Geiger said. Michael Fitzgerald is serving a 62-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and testifying against Tate.

Two jurors later said they felt forced into convicting on felony murder by the other jurors.

The victim's widow (and mother of the kid who got the 62 year deal) is yelling about how the system protects the rights of defendants over victims. (See her statement at the end of the article.)

A life sentence without parole for a disturbed teen isn't enough for her? What does she want, life plus cancer? Is she also thinking her own son got off too lightly? I bet not.

But she's not the point of my post. The point is life without parole for juveniles in Colorado must be ended.