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8th Amendment case of Roper V. Simmons analysis....

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Roper Simmons (8th amendment Case) Case Citation. Roper V. Simmons, U.S. Supreme Court, and 1997 Key Facts. Simmons was 17 years old when he was charged with a capital murder of Shirley Crook in 1993 in the state of Missouri. In 1993, Simmons discussed his plan to commit murder with his two friends ages 15 and 16. Simmons told his friends that they were going to burglarize, tie up the victim and throw him/her off a bridge. The two friends were worried about committing the crime but Simmons assured them that they would get away with it since they were all minors. On the day of commiting the crime, Simmons and his two friends entered the house of a 46 years old woman, Shirley Crook through a crack window and did exactly what they planned earlier. They tied up Shirley Crook, covered her mouth with duct tape and drove her in their minivan to the bridge, pushed her off the bridge into the river and watched her drown. They also took six dollars as a result of the burglary. Three days later, the body of Shirley Crook was found by fishermen and the evidence found pointed at Simmons. He was caught and charged with burglary, kidnapping, stealing, and murder. Simmon was tried as an adult despite his age and with no prior convictions and he was sentenced to death by the Jury in the trial courts. Simmons asked the trial to look at his case more carefully and consider his age, his troubled background and claimed that the counsel who assisted him was not effective but the trial court refused to grant his request and he was sentenced to death. Then, Simmons appealed and the case worked its way up to the court system with the death penalty still at hand. In 2002 however, a case emerged, Atkins V. Virginia involving the 8th amendment of the “ cruel and unusual punishment” clause. In this case the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional and against the 8th amendment to convict a person who is intellectually disabled with the death Penalty. Upon hearing that, Simmons filed a new petition for state post-conviction relief. Issue. When Simmons was convicted of a capital murder, he was under the age of 18 but the Missouri Court of Apeal refused to consider his troubled background, his age and the fact that he had no prior convictions but unsteady agreed with the jury and charged him with the death penalty. According to the Supreme Court ruling of 2002 in the Case of Atkins V. Virginia, The Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional and against the 8th amendment clause of cruel and unusual punishment to convict an intellectually disabled person with the death penalty. Since Simmons was considered a minor at the time he committed the murder, he will be considered as intellectually disabled because at his age, he had no fully mental capacity or the culpability required to be convicted. So, the Missouri trial court's ruling in giving Simmons the death penalty was considered a violation aganist the 8th amendment according to the Supreme Court ruling of 2002, case of Atkins V. Virginia. Rule.

In the Case of Roper V. Simmons, the Missouri Supreme Court used the 8th amendment to rule over the case of Simmons despite the lower court ruling on the case. The lower court, on the other hand, used the evidence presented against the defendant. The rule is one is not guilty until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The lower court convicted the defendant guilty because the evidence presented was strong and because the defendant had the mens rea, the actus reus and he premeditated the crime. The Missouri Supreme Court considered the age and the maturity of the defendant and the 8th amendment which protects minors from being convicted harshly under the “cruel and unusual” punishment clause. Holding. In the case of Troper V. Simmons, the lower court of Missouri convicted Simmons guilty of capital murder and gave him the death penalty but the Supreme Court reversed their descison and convicted him with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Reasoning. The Missouri court of appeal sentenced Simmons with a death penalty because they argued that he had premeditated the crime. The argued that he had mens rea to commit the crime because it was specifically ploted. The trial court did consider Simmons mitigating factors such as his age, his background, and his prior offenses but they were just not convinced. Before the case of Roper V. Simmons there was another case (Thompson V. Oklahoma). In this case, a 15 years old William Thompson was also given a death sentence for the killing of Charles Keene. The Oklahoma court of appeal gave Thompson a death penalty but the U.S.Supreme Court overuled the death penalty unconsitutional under the 8th amendment because it protects aganist “cruel and Unusual punishment. In 2002, another case Atkins V. Virginian emerged. In this case, The Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal to convict someone who committed a crime while a minor or under the age of 18 with the the death penalty because they are considered intellectually disable because they do not have the maturity capacity. When Simmons appealed to the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Supreme Court reversed his conviction and insteady sentenced him to life in prison without parole. The Missouri Supreme Court claimed that the trial courts of Missouri violated Simmons 8th amendment rights that prohibit cruel and Unusual punishment. Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruled minors, especially teenagers, are misrepresented in the court system. They do not have the maturity to responsibilities as adults and are more subjected to peer pressure. Critical Analysis. In order for someone to de found guilty of murder or any other high crimes, are there many factors that need to be proven or at least considered such as the mens rea and the actus reus. In the case of Roper V. Simmons, the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Simmons committed capital Murder, why?, well because the evidence found against the accused was overwhelmingly strong that there was no doubt that the accused will be found not guilty. The evidence such as videotapes, witness testimonies, all pointed at the accused. The evidence showed that the accused had premeditated and deliberate the crime. The evidence strongly showed that the accused had plotted the crime very specifically. Do I agree that the

accused was guilty? Yes, I do because according to the evidence, the defendant did plan to burglarize, tie up the victim, and throw him or her in the river, which he did. That is not all, he even told his two friends that they will get away with the crime because they were minors. Do I agree with the trial court's decision on this case? No, I do not. In my opinion, I believe that the lower courts overlooked the defendant case and violated his 8th amendment’s rights. The prosecution did not consider the mitigating factors of the defendant such as his age, his background and his prior offenses. I think that the juries were presented with strong evidence against the defendant and automatically found him guilty. According to the 8th amendment. It prohibits the court and prison from inflicting cruel and unusual punishment. This means that the government is not allowed to impose harsh and severe punishment to criminals. In the case of Roper V. Simmons, I believe the courts violated the 8th amendment because they charged a minor with a death penalty, which falls under the violation of “cruel and unusual punishment Clause” of the 8th amendment. The Supreme Court of Missouri however, shone a light in this case after the U.S. Supreme Court the ruling in the case of Atkins V. Virginia. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to impose the death penalty upon a person who is intellectuallly disabled. The Supreme Court ruled that juveniles did not have the maturity and the sense of responsibility as adults, as a result, charging children with a death penalty was in violation of the 8th amendment with protects against “cruel and unusual punishment” The Missour Supreme Court then reversed the descion ruled by the lower court. Resource Citation References Contributors to Wikimedia projects. (2021, June 8). Roper v. Simmons. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roper_v._Simmons ROPER V. SIMMONS. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2021, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-633.ZS.html...