ipl-logo

Christopher Simmons Case Study

1018 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cruel and unusual punishment persausive essay

In 1993, Christopher Simmons, at the young age of 17 committed murder by throwing a woman off a bridge. This incident took place in Missouri, Simmons along with two other individuals decided to make a plan to commit burglary and murder. Christopher Simmons along with two younger friends, John Tessmer, and Charles Benjamin come up with the idea and constructed a plan to break into Shirley Crook’s residents and murder her. However, before the plan could be carried out John Tessner backed out on Simmons and Benjamin. The original plan to be carried out consisted of breaking into Crook’s residents, tying her up, before leaving with her and tossing her off a bridge. Unfortunately, Simmons and Benjamin went through with the plan, breaking into Mrs. …show more content…

All of these factors played a role for ineffective assistance of counsel considering it was never brought up at the sentencing phase, the motion was rejected by the court and Simmons returned with an appeal. This case worked its way up through the court system; the death sentences was still upheld, until the 2002 case Atkins v. Virginia was brought to light, the U.S Supreme Court ruled a mentally ill individual cannot receive the death penalty because it’s cruel and unusual punishment. Simmons used the case for his benefit stating Missouri was now in violation of the Eighth Amendment …show more content…

The court’s opinion on this case, overturning the death penalty, I personally agree with. This case addresses the Eighth Amendment, cruel and unusual punishment and sentencing a juvenile to the death penalty violates Simmons’s Eighth Amendment Right. Simmons being 17 years of age, impulsive, immaturity, behavior changes, alcohol and drug abuse, and bad home environment is crucial to his behavior. These facts all play a role in this case; however, were not addressed during the sentencing process. During closing arguments the defense harped on Simmons’s age; to remind the jurors that legislatures made laws that prohibited juveniles from drinking, serving on juries, even buying or renting R rated movies believing that individuals under a certain age simply are not responsible enough. In the eyes of the defense attorney this is a 17 year old juvenile with a troubling home life, greatly impacting his actions on the night he committed burglary, kidnapping, and murder

Show More
Related
1385 Words | 6 Pages

While Simmons was starting to serve his time, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional to give the death penalty to the mentally challenged in 2003. Due to this new law Simmons case was reviewed once again. They had come to the conclusion that due to a national consensus, many are against the death penalty of juvenile offenders. They then sentenced Simmons to life in prison without the chance of parole. The State of Missouri appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

On December 22, 1987, Ronald Gene Simmons started a killing spree. This was the worst mass murder in Arkansas history and the worst crime involving one family. Simmons rampage ended on December 28, 1987, leaving fourteen dead of his immediate family and two former coworkers. Ronald Simmons was born on July ,15, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois.{www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=3731.} . His mother was Loretta Simmons and father was William Simmons.

Read More
544 Words | 3 Pages

The last victim was Curtis C. Burke he was a 36 white male with no relation to Charles, finally the location of the incident was Kansas City , Missouri. Also, for this crime there was 4 witness three of them was police chief and the last one was just a police officer. The first witness was John H. Fultz and he was a white male and didn’t mention the age, the city of the residence was in Wellsville, Ohio with no relation to the

Read More
1334 Words | 6 Pages

It is likely that the first family to arrive that of Simmons’s twenty-three-year-old son, William H, Simmons II. He was accompanied by his wife, Renata May Simmons, and their son. The child was only twenty months old. The young couple was shot. Their bodies were covered with coats and bedding in the dining room rather than being thrown in the pit Simmons had used to inter the other murdered family members.

Read More
716 Words | 3 Pages

The question specifically posed for the court to address is whether the courts should consider the age of a juvenile suspect when deciding whether he or she is in custody for Miranda purposes. The Supreme Court issued an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor determining that a age should be considered when determining if a juvenile suspect is in custody and should be issued their Miranda rights. Sotomayor’s opinion stated, “It is beyond dispute that children will often feel bound to submit to police questioning when an adult in the same circumstances would feel free to leave. Seeing no reason for police officers or courts to blind themselves to that commonsense reality, we hold that a child’s age properly informs the Miranda custody analysis” (The Oyez Project as IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law). The case was returned to a lower court to determine how the age of J.D.B. may have impacted the statements and evidence obtained by

Read More
496 Words | 2 Pages

Case: Roper v. Simmons (2005) Rule of the Case: The decision in which the Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed under the age of 18. Facts: In Missouri, Christopher Simmons, age 17, made a plan to murder someone and bring along two of his friends, and one friend ended up dropping out. The plan was to break in and enter, tie up the victim, and toss the victim off a bridge. The case was brought to trial with exceeding evidence. Simmons confessed to the murder, videotaped reenactment of the crime, and testimony from Tessmer, the friend who backed out, that premeditation was involved.

Read More
1284 Words | 6 Pages

In 1993, Christopher Simmons wanted to kill his neighbor, Shirley Crook. Why in the world would a young, 17 year old boy want to do something so evil? That was the question many

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

In September 1993 Christopher Simmons who was at the time seventeen years old, discussed his wish to burglarize and murder someone. Simmons had even described the manner in which he would kill, he would throw someone from a bridge. Simmons also believed that if arrested he would get away with it because he was a juvenile. On September 8th, 1993 after meeting a friend’s house, Simmons and his friend Charlie Benjamin broke into Shirley Crook’s house. They entered through an open window in the back.

Read More
1528 Words | 7 Pages

Crimes are happening around us whether we pay attention to them or not. Those crimes as dangerous as murder are committed by all ages but should younger criminal in their juvenile age received the same punishment as older criminals. On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles committed murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violates the Eighth Amendment.(On-Demand Writing Assignment Juvenile Justice) Advocates on the concurring side believes that mandatory life in prison is wrong and should be abolish. However, the dissenting side believe that keeping the there should be a life in prison punishment for juvenile who commit heinous crime regardless of their age.

Read More
1118 Words | 5 Pages

Supreme Court reviewed the cases of Evan Miller and Kuntrell Jackson who were both convicted with committing capital murder at the age of fourteen. Firstly, all defendants are allowed to argue that their punishment violated the Eighth Amendment. According to www.verdict.justia.com, “ On a theory that Miller and Jackson were entitled to individualized sentencing, they were denied the opportunity to argue the relevance of these mitigating factors to their proper punishment in an attempt to persuade their judges that the sentence of LWOP was too harsh.” Specifically, this indicates that the accused people were not allowed to argue that their punishment had violated the Eighth Amendment. Secondly, age matters when deciding the consequence for the convicted criminals.

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that it is immoral to give juveniles life sentences, even if they commit a crime as serious as murder, because it is a cruel and unusual punishment. This has been an issue in America as teenagers are often treated as adults in court due to a belief that their crimes warrant a harsh punishment. Many believe that these kids should not be given such major sentences because they are still immature and do not have the self control that adults do. I agree that juveniles do not deserve life sentences because they put less thought and planning into these crimes and they often are less malicious than adults. The article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” explains that the teenagers lose brain tissue that is responsible for self control and impulses (Thompson 7).

Read More
952 Words | 4 Pages

He also focuses his argument on the role of the courts by declaring that it is not their place to argue the matter of age, but instead to uphold the constitutional standard. Smith reasons in his argument that it should be up to the state legislatures to look at individual cases and determine what punishment would be best. Of the states that do allow the death penalty, the majority allow the application to people under the age of eighteen. Smith concluded his argument by stating that “maturity and sophistication are factors which vary from individual to individual” and that those factors, not a definitive age, should be the basis for the court’s decision to employ the death penalty for those under the age of eighteen (43). Justice Antonin Scalia agreed with Smith’s argument, confirming that, “executing people for crimes they commit when sixteen or older is not cruel and unusual punishment” (“Stanford v. Kentucky 1989”).

Read More
1382 Words | 6 Pages

Because of the mass media coverage and the societal biases regarding the case, the jury found the teenagers guilty on account of limited and biased evidence. The defense was unable to effectively challenge the jury due to these preconceived notions and ideas, despite the jury itself being unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants committed the crime described in the

Read More
2035 Words | 9 Pages

In Missouri in 1993, 17-year-old Christopher Simmons, along with two younger friends,Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer conjured up a plan to murder Shirley Crook. The plan was to commit burglary and murder by breaking and entering, tying up the victim. The three met up in the middle of the night. Tessmer however dropped out of the plan. But Simmons and Benjamin continued with the plan.

Read More
1160 Words | 5 Pages

Therefore, when a person argues that a juvenile was not aware of their crime is a discrediting claim. In 1990 in the city of Chicago, a couple expecting their first child were murdered in cold blood in the hands of a juvenile teen. The teen shot both the husband and the wife who pleaded for their lives and the life of their unborn child. Author of “Juvenile Justice Information Exchange”, Jennifer Jenkins states, “He reported to a friend, who testified at his trial, about his ‘thrill kill’ that he just wanted to ‘see what it would feel like to shoot someone’”. This killer was aware of his crime and was aware of who his victims were due to planning the murders months before.

Read More

More about Christopher Simmons Case Study

Related Topics

Open Document