Roper v. Simmons

Roper v. Simmons (2005) was a case before the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled on March 1, 2005, that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18, in a 5-4 decision.

References

While the Supreme Court did not cite specific research studies, their arguments are well-grounded in the substantial body of scientific and sociological research that recognizes the mental/developmental differences between adults and adolescents. In fact, neither the majority nor dissenting opinions put the research into question. The references listed below go into great detail about these differences, the development of the human mind, and its capacity for judgment which might not fully mature until the age of 25.

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• Cauffman, Elizabeth and Laurence Steinberg. (2000). (Im)maturity of Judgment in Adolescence: Why Adolescents May Be Less Culpable Than Adults Behavioral Sciences and the Law 18, 741-760.
• Scott, Elizabeth S. and Thomas Grisso. (1997). Evolution of Adolescence: A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice Reform Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 88(1), 137-189.
• Sowell, Elizabeth R., Paul M. Thompson, Keven D. Tessner, and Arthur W. Toga. (2001). Mapping Continued Brain Growth and Gray Matter Density Reduction in Dorsal Frontal Cortex: Inverse Relationships during Postadolescent Brain Maturation The Journal of Neuroscience 21(22), 8819-8829.
• National Institute of Mental Health. (2001). Teenage Brain: A work in progress, A brief overview of research into brain development during adolescence. NIH Publication No. 01-4929.
• Gerencher, Kristen (Feb. 2, 2005). Understand your teen's brain to be a better parent. Detroit Free Press.