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Impact Of Roper V Simmons

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Roper v. Simmons is considered a landmark case and is one of a handful that shows a new direction in granting some relief from what has been established as harsh “adult” punishments for juveniles (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). In fact, many studies are showing that the differences between adults and juveniles are quite significant (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). The courts are realizing that these differences must be taking into account when dealing with juveniles in the criminal justice system (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). However, that being said, change does not occur overnight, and for the unforeseeable future, juveniles will still continue to be waived into adult courts (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). The Roper v. Simmons decision has significant impacts on juveniles …show more content…

Crook was reported missing by her husband later the same day when he returned home from a short trip (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). Later the same day, fishermen discovered her body. Simmons was very self-satisfied with his murder and was more than happy to brag about it to his friends (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). He specifically told them that the killed a woman because she was able to identify him, referring to her as a bitch (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). By the next day, the police were made aware of what Simmons did, and arrested him at school. At the police station, he waived his rights and after a short interrogation, Simmons confessed to the murder (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). He also agreed to make a video reenactment of exactly what happened (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). At 17 years old, Simmons was charged with burglary, kidnapping, theft, and 1st degree murder. In Missouri, Simmons was tried as an adult being that he was 17 years old and committed murder (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). His confession and reenactment were used against him at trial as well as other evidence such as his planning it out and bragging about it (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). The jury convicted him of murder. The prosecution sought the death penalty arguing that Simmons murdered for money, to prevent being arrested, and his actions were simply evil and cold-blooded. Family members of the victim made compelling arguments as well (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). The defense tried to convince the court the death penalty should not be sought and presented family testimony showing that Simmons had the ability to love by taking responsibility for his brothers and grandmother. They also showed that he had no prior record (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). Both sides argued Simmons age to benefit their sides. Both the jury and judge agreed the death penalty was appropriate (Roper v. Simmons,

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Then bragged to his friends about it because she seen his face. When Simmons was taken into custody, he admitted everything on a videotape. Outcome: Simmons was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. However, he appealed his conviction twice and the Missouri Supreme Court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release except by governor act, while setting aside the death sentence.

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Roper v. Simmons was a Supreme Court case that occurred in 2004. The case was deciding whether or not minors over the age of fifteen were allowed to be sentenced to death. Christopher Simmons was given the death sentence at seventeen years old. He felt that he should not have been given the death penalty because he was not yet an adult. Simmons said that this was violating his Eighth Amendment rights.

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He also tried to reach for a deputy’s gun, in which he again was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Simmons kept waiving his rights to appeal, to try to get away with being “insane”. This shows that he was for sure competent enough to think about those things, so what exactly was wrong with this man? Then finally in 1990, with Simmons accepting his fate, Bill Clinton signed his death warrant for June 25, 1990. This was the fastest sentence to death ever since the death penalty was put into

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Simmons, 2015). During closing arguments, both the prosecutor and defense counsel addressed the fact that Simmons was merely 17 years old, which was considered as a mitigating factor (Roper v. Simmons, 2015). Approximately nine months later, after Simmons turned 18 years-old, Simmons was sentenced to death for the commission of this offense (Roper v. Simmons, 2015). As a result, the jury recommended the death penalty, which the judge subsequently imposed against 17-year-old Simmons (Roper v. Simmons, 2015). Simmons’ direct appeal and subsequent petitions for state and federal post-conviction relief were rejected (Roper v. Simmons,

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Simmons is that the Supreme Court affirmed Mr. Simmons’s appeal holding that executing juvenile offenders under the age of 18 years old does indeed violate the 8th Amendment. Additionally, along with repealing the death sentence on Christopher Simmons, the Supreme Court also repealed death sentences of many others who committed crimes as juveniles under the age of 18. Upon taking a stance whether I disagree or agree with the ruling is a tough decision, however, I agree with the life without parole sentencing. There is a certain standard of decency and morality when sentencing juvenile offenders and executing minors would be considered “cruel and unusual punishment” as prohibited by the 8th Amendment. It would be disproportionate.

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Christopher Simmons was a seventeen year old juvenile from Missouri whom in 1993 along with two of his friends, Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, planned to rob and murder Shirley Crook in her home (Roper v. Simmons, 2004). On the night the crime was to be committed, Tessmer pulled out of the plan, and Simmons and Benjamin would continue on as planned. The two broke into the Ms. Crook’s home, robbed her, tied her up, covered up her eyes, then drove her to a state park and threw her off a bridge. During the trial, evidence, videotaped reenactment and testimony outlining the premeditated plan, allowed for the jury to easily convict Simmons of the crime. Even though Simmons had no previous criminal record and was a minor at the time the crime was committed,

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At the age of 17, Christopher Simmons planned and pursued his plan of kidnapping, tying up, and throwing his neighbor, Shirley Crook off of a bridge. Missouri attorneys claim that Simmons boasted about his plan of killing his neighbor. Thinking that he could get away with it because he was only 17 years old, which is not fair. But other attorneys claim that Simmons should not get the death penalty because it violates the 8th amendment. Considering Simmons still committed murder and put the innocent women to a cruel death, he should have been given the death penalty.

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In the days leading up to the crime Christopher Simmons would pressure his peers, Charlie Benjamin and John Tessmer, into assisting him in committing a crime. He wanted to burglarize a home and commit murder by tying up the victim and throwing them off of a bridge.. He told them that they could get away with it because they were all under eighteen meaning that no matter what they did they couldn’t get the death sentence. Christopher Simmons came up with the idea to break into the home of Shirley Crook, and without telling the others about it also had planned to murder her as well. The trio met up at Brian Moomey’s house, a local convicted felon who allowed teens to hang out on his property.

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In Roper v. Simmons there are two issues that must be addressed, the first being the issue of moral maturity and culpability. The defense in the trial phase of this case argued that Mr. Simmons was an at an age where he was not responsible enough to fully understand the effects and consequences of his actions. The majority draws on Atkins v. Virginia to argue that this specific precedent supports their case that the death penalty should not be imposed on the mentally immature or impaired. However, an important point to be made is that the Atkins v. Virginia decision is geared towards the clinical definition of mental retardation: significant limitations that limit adaptive skills. Also, another important question to consider is the competency and premeditation of Mr. Simmons’ crime in this case.

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The investigation began with the Court looking for a national consensus against the juvenile death penalty by examining the actions of sentencing juries and state legislation. According to the Court’s calculations, thirty states opposed to the death penalty for juveniles equaled the number of states in Atkins opposed to the death penalty for mentally retarded offenders - a number deemed adequate to show a national consensus against the practice (Leavitt). Justice Kennedy moved on to engage in proportionality analysis and argued that capital punishment must be limited to individuals who commit, “...a narrow category of the most serious of crimes,” and are thus, “...the most deserving of execution” (543 US 551, at 568). Lastly, the analysis led Kennedy to note that America was one of the few countries that allowed capital punishment for offenders under eighteen and, “...acknowledged the overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty” (543 US 551, at 571). The Court’s findings ended in a ruling in favor of Simmons and upholding the unconstitutionality of the juvenile death

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“The court consistently held that children are entitled to the same due process as adults. With that understood, however, the Court has also consistently held that, from a developmental standpoint, youth are different from adults, which greatly impacts how courts should treat them in a whole host of areas, such as waiver of rights, culpability, and punishment” (National Juvenile Defender Center). This shows that the juvenile delinquent cases before In Re Gault were not highly regulated. The Court believed that handling juveniles needed to be very different from the way the courts handle adult cases. In Re Gault changed that.

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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.

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Based on the Eight Amendment Simmons argue the death penalty is a disproportionate punishment for Juveniles under the age of 18 years old. Juveniles being executed under the age of 16 year old base on the time they

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There are many children in the world who are being put behind bars and detained for alleged wrongdoing without protections they are entitled to. Throughout the world, children are charged and sentenced for actions that should not be considered as adult crimes. Here in the United States, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is age 12. Law enforcement officials and those in the juvenile justice system nationwide tend to mistreat underage individuals by trying cases while working through the lens of an adult. Unfair punishments are still handed down domestically, which is in violation of Supreme Court law.

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Annotated bibliography Childress, S. (2016, June 2). More States Consider Raising the Age for Juvenile Crime. Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/more-states-consider-raising-the-age-for-juvenile-crime/ More states are considering to raising the age for juvenile crimes before being tried as adult because young offender's mental capacity. The idea is to cut the cost of incarcerate young offender in adult prison and ensure offenders to receive proper education and specialized care to change their behavior. Putting children in adult prison does not deter crime.

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