In Missouri of 1993, Christopher Simmons at the age of 17, along with two of his friends devised a plan to murder Shirley Crook. The night of, one of the boys opted out of the plan. Despite being down a person, Christopher Simmons and his remaining friend pursued the execution of their plan to break in and murder the woman. They restrained her in duct tape, drove to a nearby bridge, and threw her into the river below. Simmons would eventually confess to law enforcement of his actions even going as far as submitting a videotaped reenactment of the murder he committed. It was established that Christopher Simmons had indeed premeditated the murder and bragged about it after the fact. The jury’s final verdict on Mr. Simmons was guilty and the trial …show more content…
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 Additionally, along with repealing the death sentence on Christopher Simmons, the Supreme Court also repealed death sentences of many others who committed crimes as juveniles under the age of 18.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. According to research in psychology, the brain contains areas that are responsible for reason, impulse controls, and decision making are not fully developed in minors or juveniles. There is a high percentage of juveniles in the correctional system who have experienced abuses, drug addiction, poverty, and abandonment. Juveniles who commit crimes can still have the ability to turn their lives around through rehabilitation programs. Older criminals are seemingly stuck in their ways. While I do not think that may be the case with Mr. Simmons, since he premeditated his crime and bragged about it afterwards, he should receive life without