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.

The ruling

The case was argued on October 13, 2004. The constitutionality of capital punishment for persons who were juveniles when their crimes were committed was put into question, citing the Eighth Amendment that protects individuals from cruel and unusual punishment.

Related Topics:
October 13 - 2004 - Eighth Amendment

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Previously, a 1988 Supreme Court decision Thompson v. Oklahoma barred execution of offenders under the age of 16. In 1989, another case, Stanford v. Kentucky upheld the possibility of capital punishment for offenders who are 16 or 17 years old when they committed the capital offense. The same day in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled in the case, Penry v. Lynaugh, that it was permissible to execute the mentally retarded. However, in 2003, that decision was reconsidered in Atkins v. Virginia, citing that decency standards had evolved and execution of the mentally retarded was now considered to be cruel and unusual punishment and thus unconstitutional.

Related Topics:
Thompson v. Oklahoma - Stanford v. Kentucky - 1989 - Penry v. Lynaugh - Atkins v. Virginia

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This case, Roper v. Simmons, brought the issue to the table again. In question, is whether it is Constitutionally permissible to execute an offender who committed a capital crime while under the age of 18. As in the issue of executing the mentally retarded, the Supreme Court has now decided that society?s standards have evolved since the 1989 case of Thompson v. Oklahoma and that it is indeed cruel and unusual punishment to execute a juvenile, under age 18.

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Supporting this "evolving standard", is the body of scientific and sociological research1 that finds juveniles have a lack of maturity and sense of responsibility, compared to adults. Adolescents are overrepresented statistically in virtually every category of reckless behavior. In recognition of the comparative immaturity and irresponsibility of juveniles, almost every State prohibits those under age 18 from voting, serving on juries, or marrying without parental consent. Juveniles are also more vulnerable to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure. They have less control, or experience with control, over their own environment. They also lack the freedom that adults have, in escaping a criminogenic setting.

Related Topics:
1 - Criminogenic

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Another key basis of support for the ?national consensus? on the death penalty for juveniles is the increasing infrequency that it is applied at the state level. While 20 states have the juvenile death penalty on the books, only six states have executed prisoners for crimes committed as juveniles, since 1989. And, just three states have done so in the past 10 years: Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. Furthermore, five of the states that allowed the juvenile death penalty at the time of the 1989 case have since abolished it. Thus, the execution of juveniles is indeed becoming increasingly unusual in the United States and a ?national consensus? has developed.

Related Topics:
Oklahoma - Texas - Virginia

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In evaluating whether penalties violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, the Supreme Court has taken guidance from the law of foreign countries and international bodies. Since 1990, only seven other countries ? Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and China ? have executed juveniles. Since then, however, each of those seven countries has either abolished the death penalty for juveniles or made public disavowal of the practice. Now, one finds the stark reality that the United States stand alone, as the only country in the world that continues to allow execution of juveniles. Furthermore, only the United States and Somalia have yet to ratify Article 37 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (September 2, 1990), which expressly prohibits capital punishment for crimes committed by juveniles.

Related Topics:
Iran - Pakistan - Saudi Arabia - Yemen - Nigeria - Democratic Republic of Congo - China - United States - Somalia - United Nations

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In drawing the line at 18 years of age for actions with death eligibility, the Supreme Court considered that is also where society draws the line between childhood and adulthood for a multitude of other purposes, overturning its holding in Stanford v. Kentucky that such a consideration was irrelevant.

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