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Roper V. Simmons Case Study

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In 2005 the Roper v. Simmons case went down in history as a landmark decision creating the pretext that no persons under the age of 18 can be sentenced to capital punishment. Simmons was sentenced to the death penalty at the missouri supreme court after planning a kidnapping and murder on his neighbor Shirley Crook. Evidence was shown that this was premeditated by witnesses Charlie Benjamin and John tessmer whom of which Simmons confided his plans within. All Appeals of this case wernt heard until 2002 when the missouri supreme court passed simmons's execution due to the ruling of a similar case Atkins vs virginia. In This case atkins was exempt from the death penalty due to his mental state. Atkins was examined and tested of his abilities to think and make rational decisions. The verdict was …show more content…

Sandra Aamodt” From the Neuroscientist's perspective it has been shown that the human brain is not actually fully developed until one reaches 25. In an interview with Dr. Sandra Aamodt, host of WAMU 88.5 Tony Cox questions just exactly what it means for a brain to mature into “adulthood”. Amodt dives into details about the difference in decision making, crime rates, and gender being a factor as well. The connection between brain maturity and crime rates could be crucial when deciding the proper age for being tried as an adult in court. Drastic changes occur in a person's life when one becomes 18. They can vote, join the military, move out, and legally become an adult. Dr. Aamodt has studied to prove that the brain doesn't fully develop for the average human until the age of 25. Studies have also proven that males generally take two years longer when beginning to mature. Simmons was tried as an adult at the age of 17 and sentenced to death because of his premeditated actions. Dr. Aamodt also states that the human brain doesn't fully process decision making until the age of 22, which could explain why simmons didn't fully think out his

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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.

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LEGAL METHODS AND RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 2 – CASE BRIEF: ROPER V. SIMMONS SHANNON MAHER – 14401402 The case of Roper v. Simmons 543 US 551 (2001) involves two parties; Christopher Simmons, the offender, and Donald P. Roper. The facts of the case are as follows: Simmons conspired to break into his neighbour’s house and murder the tenant, Shirley Crook, with his two younger friends, Tessmer and Benjamin, aged 16 and 15 respectively. Tessmer backed out of the plan prior to the crime being committed.

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The constitution including its amendments is considered the “supreme law of the land”. The constitution has been enhanced by being steadily challenged to further interpret the meaning. These test come through many different legal cases that are brought to the Supreme Court; for example. The first amendment states “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting…or abridging the freedom of speech…” Though there are restrictions on a person’s first amendment rights, in the Hazlewood v. Kuhlmeier case this amendment was challenge when students of the school newspaper believed their rights were taken away by the principal because two pages of articles were deleted from the paper.

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In the case Roper v. Simmons three friends Christopher Simmons 17, Charles Benjamin 15, and John Tessmer 16 decided to rob Shirley Crook 46 on September 9, 1993. As the time came, two of the three decided to go through with the robbery but John Tessmer decided that this was not for him and backed out. After that moment Christopher Simmons and Charles Benjamin went through with the crime. Then at 2 am the two boys Christopher Simmons and Charles Benjamin met up to commit the crime. They then went into the home Shirley Crook was currently residing in.

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The verdict was that Simmons should be sentenced to death and that it was NOT a violation of his 8th and 14th amendment. “Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and the sentence.” Of course Simmons disagreed with that therefore he went to the supreme court, so that they would agree with him that it is a violation of his amendments. Roper the petitioner believed that Christopher should be sentenced to death because he killed someone, it doesn't matter that he was 17 when he did the crime. If you committed the crime you have to pay the price, shouldn't have done it if you can't do the

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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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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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Young adults are adventurous and take risks in many aspects of their life. By the end of adolescence, the body is finished growing and performs at its peak level after which there after is a slow decline of the body. The subsequent years of life are labeled adulthood and cover four decades.

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In “Startling Finds on Teenage Brain,” by Paul Thompson, the author states, “But what really caught our eye was a massive loss of brain tissue that occurs in the teenage years.” This is a very vital point when defending the mass amount of juveniles being sentenced for life. It sounds almost impossible for teenagers to make a decision and be aware of the consequences as they are losing massive amounts of brain tissue. Thompson continues to explain, “Gray matter, which brain researchers believe supports all our thinking and emotions, is purged at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent a year during this [adolescent] period.” This discovery is helping people understand that while we are young, are brains are doing nothing but developing.

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His

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Therefore, adulthood is someone who accepts responsibility, makes independent decisions, and becomes financially independent and age doesn’t help people consider young individuals as adults because going through adulthood is different for everyone, so people mature at different time or

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