Suzanne_Cline_Essay

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Jan 9, 2024

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Suzanne Cline Karen Morrissette LSTD 203 October 22, 2023 Roper v. Simmons debating the death penalty for juveniles The parties involved in the case were the petitioner, Donald P. Roper, Superintendent of Potosi Correctional Center, and the respondent, Christopher Simmons. What led to this case was at the age of 17, Simmons committed the kidnapping and murder of Shirley Crook, which he confessed to. Since he was 17 at the time of the crime, he was out of the jurisdiction of the Missouri Juvenile Court System. Mo. Rev. Stat .- 211.021 (2000) and 211.031 (Supp.2003). He was tried as an adult, convicted, and sentenced to death. The lower courts involved were the trial court of Missouri, which tried, convicted, and sentenced Simmons to death. Simmons obtained new counsel after his conviction, and his new counsel motioned the trial court to set aside the conviction and sentence, arguing ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial. The trial court denied the motion for postconviction relief. Johnson v. State, 72238 - Florida - Case Law - VLEX 888625224. https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/johnson-v-state-no-888625224 The
Missouri Supreme Court agreed and affirmed the lower court's findings . State v. Simmons, 944 S.W. 2d 165, 169 The federal courts denied Simmon's request for habeas corpus. Simmons v. Bowersox, 235 F. 3d 1124, 1127 (CA8) Simmons filed a new motion for postconviction relief, basing his argument on the Eighth Amendment. He presented that the Eighth Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment and prohibits the execution of juvenile offenders when their crime was committed before the age of 18. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed with this assertion, setting aside the death penalty and imposing a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole or release, except by a governor's order 1d, at 413 . State ex. Rel. Simmons v. Roper, 112 S.W. 3d 397 (2003). The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that decision. Simmon's argument was based on Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 153 L. ed, 2d 335, 122 S Ct. 2242 (2002). As a result, the U.S. Supreme Court referenced Atkins, stating that society viewed juvenile offenders as less culpable than the average criminal. The court also referenced Thomas v. Oklahoma (1988) 487 U.S., 815, 101 L. ed. 2d 702, 108 S. Ct. 2687. In this, the court held that the death penalty is prohibited when the offender is less than 16 and that it applies to all offenders under 18.
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