Roper V. Simmons Case Study

Roper vs. Simmons was one of the few cases in almost two decades to address whether it’s constitutional under the eighth and fourteenth amendments to execute a juvenile offender who was over the age of fifteen but under the age of eighteen when he/she committed a capital crime. In 1988, Thompson vs. Oklahoma banned the execution of minors who were sixteen years of age when they committed a capital crime. Another case, Stanford vs. Kentucky (1989), divided the court which eventually rejected that the Constitution excludes capital punishment for minors of this age group. Roper vs. Simmons overturned the decision in Stanford vs. Kentucky. Only seven countries in the past century have favored execution of minors convicted of capital crimes: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
Virginia prohibited the execution of a mentally retarded person, and Simmons’ tried to file a new petition for state postconviction relief, saying that this made the Constitution prohibit the execution of someone if the crime was committed when they were under 18. This was the second time Simmons had appealed; the first being when he claimed he had not received adequate assistance during the trial because additional information regarding his difficult home background, impulsivity, and being easily influenced by others was not presented to the judge (this appeal was rejected). They reviewed the Stanford vs. Kentucky case and agreed that it was no longer valid with influence of international opinion of execution of minors who had committed capital crimes. Justice Anthony Kennedy spoke for the State in March 2005 stating that execution of juveniles who committed crimes before they turned 18 was considered cruel and unusual punishment. Simmons’ death sentence was then set aside and they resentenced him to life in prison with no chance of parole, probation, or release without the Governor’s doing so