Capital Punishment: The Roper V. Simmons Case

277 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Roper v. simmons, 543 u.s. 551

A case in which brought a huge amount of attention to capital punishment is the Roper v. Simmons case (Reuters, 2017). The Roper v. Simmons case included a teen named, Christopher Simmons, Simmons planned and committed a murder at the age of seventeen. He was convicted and sentenced the death penalty at the age of eighteen. Simmons petitioned after his conviction that he was under the age of eighteen at the time of the crime, therefore he was still a juvenile. He related back to the Atkins v Virginia case indicating he was under eighteen and not fully mentally developed yet. In the Atkins case the sentence was violating the eighth amendment valid to the states done by the fourteenth amendment, which states the prohibition of a mentally retarded

Show More
Related

  • A Look at the Conflicts of the Juvinile Court System in “No Matter How Loud I Shout” by Edward Humes

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people say that the systems first priority should be to protect the public from the juvenile criminals that are a danger to others. Once the juveniles enter the system there is however, arguments on what should be done with them. Especially for those deemed too dangerous to be released back to their parents. Some want them locked away for as long as possible without rehabilitation, thinking that it will halt their criminal actions. One way to do this they argue would be to send them into an adult court. This has been a large way to reform the juvenile system, by lowering the age limits. I believe in certain cases this is the best method for unforgiving juveniles convicted of murder, as in the case of Ronald Duncan, who got away with a much lesser sentence due to his age. However another juvenile, Geri Vance, was old enough to be sent into the adult court, which caused him t...

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment: Just Mercy By Attorney-At Law Bryan Stevenson

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1608 the case of Captain George Kendall became the first recorder Capital Punishment case in the colonies. Capital punishment has been a very controversial topic since the beginning of the 13 colonies. Capital Punishment is defined as the legally authorized killing of a subject as punishment for committing a crime, mostly involving a homicide. In the first couple of years that Capital Punishment was first used, the subject would be hung from a tree in a public viewing, but as laws changed it became a more private practice. Many people have issues with Capital punishment, while some people believe it is just. Lawyers have fought for many years for what they believe to be the injustice and immoral practice of killing a human being,

    Read More

  • Furman v. Georgia: The Death Penalty Case

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    “William Henry Furman, a twenty-six-year-old black man with a sixth grade education, was not what most people called a “bad” man,” (Herda 7). Furman was just laid off of his job and was struggling to find work. But there was none. Every job did not pay enough, or was a short term job. Eventually, depressed, hungry, and broke, Furman turned to breaking and entering and to petty thievery by means of survival. Furman was caught a few times and was given a light sentence. He was also examined by a psychiatrist and was determined to be mentally impaired, but not enough to go to a mental institution. But on August 11, 1967, Furman went to rob the house of twenty-nine-year-old William Joseph Micke, Jr. with his wife and five young children. When searching through the house, Furman made too much noise, which alerted Micke. Furman heard Micke walking down the stairs and pulled out his gun that he used for scaring people away. But Micke kept walking downwards. Not wanting to be caught, Furman tried to run away and tripped over an exposed cord. His gun discharged. The bullet ricocheted to the back door. On the other side, a body fell to the floor. William Joseph Micke Jr. was dead. “The police responded to the call quickly and, within minutes, they had apprehended Furman just down the street from the scene of the crime. The murders weapon was still in his pocket,” (Herda 9). Furman tried to plead guilty by insanity and the psychiatrists described him as legally insane. But then, several days later one of the psychiatrists revised their medical opinion. Because he was not insane, the case would go on. The state of Georgia charged him with murder and issued the death penalty. This was because Georgia state law stated that any form of murder is...

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment: The Ford V. Wainwright Case

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sometimes in life people are not given their rights, the rights that are supposed to be given fairly to them under all circumstances. Although the rights of the people are extremely important in some cases, people tend to change them. The Ford v. Wainwright case is a great example of this it shows even the government can sometimes break rules just to get their point across. This case shows many different ways of how things can be broken down into something it is not, this case shows the importance of how things really get handled behind closed doors of the government. “Ford’s” case was not properly handled because the court system decided to go against the eighth amendment, which made this case unfair.

    Read More

  • Roper V Simmons Case Study

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the United States Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons of 2005 the Supreme Court ruled in a five to four ruling that the death sentence for minors was considered “cruel and unusual punishment,” as stated by the Eighth Amendment, according to the Oyez Project online database. Christopher Simmons, the plaintiff, was only seventeen at the time of his conviction of murder. With the Roper v Simmons, 2005 Supreme Court ruling against applying the death penalty to minors, this also turned over a previous 1989 ruling of Stanford v. Kentucky that stated the death penalty was permissible for those over the age of sixteen who had committed a capital offense. The Roper v. Simmons is one of those landmark Supreme Court cases that impacted, and changed

    Read More

  • Roper v. Simmons: The Juvenile Death Penalty

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the past 400 years over 360 juveniles have been executed for the particularly heinous crimes they committed. The death penalty in juvenile cases had developed greatly in the past 400 years, starting with Thomas Granger execution in 1642 and progressing to the Roper v. Simmons trail in 2005 where juvenile execution was outlawed in the United States.

    Read More

  • James Echols And The Juvenile Death Penalty

    268 Words  | 1 Pages

    America is no stranger for juveniles being tried as adults. The first known case being in 1642; Thomas Granger, 16, who had sex with a mare, cow and some goats was hanged in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts.1 He was America's first documented execution of a child offender and the debut of the juvenile death penalty.1 The youngest girl to be executed was 12-year-old Hannah Ocuish who was hanged for killing a 6-year-old white child in 1786.1 Finally, James Echols, was the last execution in 1964 who was executed for rape two years later at the age of 19.1

    Read More

  • Harsher Crime Research Paper

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    If a family member was murdered, a family member was murdered, age should not dictate if the punishment for homicide will be more lenient or not. If anyone not just juveniles has the capabilities to take someone's life and does so knowing the repercussions, they should be convicted as an adult. In the case of Jennifer Bishop Jenkins who lost her sister, the husband and their unborn child, is a strong advocate of juveniles being sentenced to life without parole. In her article “Jennifer Bishop Jenkins On Punishment and Teen Killers” she shows the world the other side of the spectrum, how it is to be the victim of a juvenile in a changing society where people are fighting against life sentences for juveniles. As she states in the article “There are no words adequate to describe what this kind of traumatic loss does to a victims family. So few who work on the juvenile offender side can truly understand what the victims of their crimes sometimes go through. Some never

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Brain Underdevelopment

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout and for many years there has been a lot of controversy on how to trial someone who has committed a crime under the age of 18. A lie will be a lie even if it 's serious or innocent and that 's why just like a crime will always be a crime, no matter what the situation is. The age of a person who has committed murder shouldn 't be an issue or a complication. Many advocate that the juvenile is just a child, but despised that I believe that is no justification or defense for anyone who does a crime. America and the nation need to apprehend that juveniles that are being conducted to life in prison is not just for one small incident or crime, but for several severe crimes according to Jennifer Jenkins, Juvenile Justice Information

    Read More

  • The Need for Capital Punishment in America

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is the firm belief and position here that committing such a crime as murder is punishable by death. Americans should take a position for anyone on death row, to be executed sooner rather than later.

    Read More

  • Importance Of The 8th Amendment

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... rape or treason was committed ("8th Amendment to the Constitution – U.S. Amendment VIII Summary"). However, there are some cases where the death penalty is unacceptable regardless of the crime. In the Supreme Court case of Roper v Simmons the court decided that the execution of someone for a crime they committed when they were a minor violated the eighth amendment . The court case of Atkins v Virginia established that the death penalty is not an acceptable punishment for mentally ill felons (Lemieux, "The Supreme Court's Empty Eighth Amendment Promise"). The Supreme Court has also ruled that executing anyone under the age of 18 is an act of cruel and unusual punishment ("8th Amendment to the Constitution – U.S. Amendment VIII Summary"). The death penalty is the worst punishment a person could get, and because of that there are many restrictions on when to use it.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment: The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is when someone convicted of a crime is put to death by the state. This practice has been around for centuries. The death penalty has evolved from acts like public hanging, to the more “humane” lethal injection used today. Many people view this as the only acceptable punishment for murderers, mass rapist, and other dangerous crimes.

    Read More

  • The Case Against The Death Penalty

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    It's dark and cold, the fortress-like building has cinderblock walls, and death lurks around the perimeter. A man will die tonight. Under the blue sky, small black birds gather outside the fence that surrounds the building to flaunt their freedom. There is a gothic feel to the scene, as though you have stepped into a horror movie.

    Read More

  • The Unjust Reality of Capital Punishment

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    While one person lays with their wrists circumscribed to the worn leather of the gurney, another person holds two skin-piercing needles. The individual holding the needles is an inexperienced technician who obtains permission from the United States federal government to murder people. One needle is held as a precaution in case the pain is too visible to the viewers. Another dagger filled with a lethal dosage of chemicals is inserted into the vein that causes the person to stop breathing. When the cry of the heart rate monitor becomes monotone, the corrupt procedure is complete. Lying in the chair is a corpse when moments ago it was an individual who made one fatal mistake that will never get the chance to redeem (Ecenbarger). Although some people believe that the death

    Read More

  • Should Juveniles Be Prison For Life?

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    For instance, juveniles do not deserve life sentences because their brain isn 't fully develop yet and lack awareness of their actions. In the article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” by Paul Thompson, he explains the development of the brain and how at some situation the brain it isn 't ready and it can affect the person. This effect in divergent ways; psychologically and emotionally. On Thompson article introduces the case of Nathaniel Brazill, at age 14, he was charged second degree murder, trial as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole. After a serious research, it has shown that as many other juveniles who have committed a crime they are “far from adulthood”. As other experiments have been done, more statistics have find “a massive loss of brain tissues occurs in the teen years”, this supports his idea that brain lack of awareness due to the missing of important tissues. In another article “Adoles...

    Read More

More about Capital Punishment: The Roper V. Simmons Case

Open Document