Nicolas+McGarrahan+2A

=ROPER V. SIMMONS, Decided MARCH 1st, 2005=

Summary of case
in 1993, a 17 year old Christopher Simmons planned and committed burglary and murder against Shirley Crook by bringing two younger friends, then aged 15 and 16 respectively, to break into her house. Two of them broke into the house at 2:am, tied roper with electric cable, leather straps and duct tape, and then threw her off of a bridge into river in a nearby state park. Despite bruises found over her body and fractured ribs assumedly from the fall, the medical examiner determined the cause of her death was drowning. Simmons assured his friends they could “get away with it” because they were minors.

By the next day Steven Crook had returned home from a overnight trip and reported his wife missing. Simmons, meanwhile, was bragging about the killing, telling friends he had killed a woman “because the bitch seen my face.” The evidence they had committed the crime was astronomical, as Simmons had confessed, recorded a reenactment at the crime scene, and one of his friends (who actually bailed out before they broke into the house) had discussed and bragged about the crime in advance. Much of this evidence was gathered due to Simmons waiving his right to a attorney while being questioned. Simmons was charged with burglary, kidnapping, stealing, and murder in the first degree. Because Simmons was 17 at the time of the crime, he was outside the juvenile court system of Missouri.

However, the jury recommended the death penalty after finding the State had proved each of the three aggravating factors submitted to it. Accepting the jury’s recommendation, the trial judge imposed the death penalty.

In favor of the defendant
There were two primary argument's Simmons made during his trial-that he was under 17 years old, and therefore should not apply for the death penalty.

The second is that Simmons grew up in with a dysfunctional family life, primarily caused by a abusive stepfather, which led to substance abuse, and that this should be taken into account when his sentence was given.

Some would still argue the Jury was inaccurately informed of the possible role mental damage such as schizophrenia and mood swings Simmons was subjected to before the incident, however for whatever reason the defense does not seem to have focused on it. It should be mentioned this may have played into the supreme court's decision to appeal the death penalty sentence after Simmon's filed a appeal based on their decision in Atkins vs. Virginia, which stated that execution of mentally retarded individuals was illegal. Simmons also had no criminal history prior to this event.

In favor of the prosecutor
The prosecutions primary response to the defense was that the planning shown by Simmons and the amount of evidence left behind left little doubt that he planned and carried out the murder for a fairly long amount of time, and that as Simmons was 17, legally and morally Capital punishment should apply. This argument was based on the previous supreme court decision Penry v. Laynaugh, which stated that capital punishment was not cruel and unusual, and was effective up until the supreme court's review in 2002, several year later than Simmon's trial.

Outcome
Simmons was originally sentenced to death, however following a latter review by the supreme justice, it was reduced to life without possibility of parole. If the trial had been over 18, it would have been highly likely he would have recived the death penalty.

For me, the difference between someone who is 17 and 18 seems to be highly dependent on the individual's maturity. My opinion is that as the same variables (maturity, background etc) effect all of those who are convicted, distinguishing between them by age is overplayed. If someone has something happen to them to commit a crime, why draw the distinction as to their age when they commit it? For example, if he had held off for 2 years, then committed the act, the cause would have been the same. It's not as if the 19 year old criminal simply murdered out of some bad influence he made onto himself.

Relation to unit
This particular case's most interesting facet is how it relates to the issue of maturity. It gives us another specific example of how the supreme court feels the issue of age impacts legal outcomes.