Roper V. Simmons Case Study

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Roper v. Simmons (2005) was a landmark case in the United States that addressed the constitutionality of imposing the death penalty on individuals who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes. At the heart of the case was Christopher Simmons, who, at the age of 17, was convicted of the brutal murder of Shirley Crook in 1993. Simmons, along with two accomplices, had planned and carried out the crime, which involved burglary and tying up the victim before throwing her into a river where she drowned. The legal battle culminated in a showdown before the United States Supreme Court. In a closely divided decision, the Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Simmons, declaring that it was unconstitutional to execute individuals for crimes committed
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