MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida prosecutors on Friday offered a plea deal of three years' detention to Lionel Tate, the teenager whose life sentence for the beating death of a younger playmate sparked a national debate on the prosecution of children.

The offer came just over two weeks after a Florida appeals court ordered a new trial for Tate who was convicted in 2001 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said Tate, who is now 16, beat to death 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick, a family friend, while she was visiting his home in Pembroke Park in July 1999. The boy was 12 at the time of the killing.

Lawyers for Tate called the girl's death an accident, arguing the boy was imitating wrestling moves he had seen on television.

Tate's conviction on murder charges sparked an intense controversy in the United State over whether a child should be prosecuted as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The deal offered by prosecutors mirrors one they put on the table before Tate's trial. That deal was one his mother and his lawyers rejected.

"This was the right thing to do before the trial and it's the right thing to do now," said Ron Ishoy, a spokesman for the Broward County State Attorney's Office.

Under the offer, Tate would plead guilty to second-degree murder. He would be sentenced to three years in juvenile detention, of which he has already served 33 months. He would be under house arrest for a year after that and spend 10 years on probation.

Tate's attorneys were not immediately available for comment.

In its Dec. 10 ruling, the 4th District Court of Appeals said the boy should have been evaluated to determine if he was competent to consult his lawyer and understand the proceedings given his age and the complexity of the case against him.

The court noted doctors had testified that Tate had a low IQ and a mental age several years younger than his actual age.