Chapter 12
Juvenile Justice: The System, Process, and Law
by Rolando V. del Carmen and Chad R. Trulson
Prepared by Chad R. Trulson: University of North Texas
The Death Penalty For Juveniles:
Roper v. Simmons (2005)
THE DEATH PENALTY IN GENERAL
 Background
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Death, as a penalty, has always been a part of
history
At 2003, more than one-half of countries
retained death as ultimate punishment
However, that same year 76 countries
abolished death for any and all crimes
Earliest documented adult execution in
America occurred in 1608
At present, 38 of 50 states allow the death
penalty
Roughly 60 executions per year
Nearly 3,500 prisoners on death row
THE DEATH PENALTY IN GENERAL
 U.S.
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Supreme Court Cases
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
The death penalty, as administered at the time,
constituted cruel and unusual punishment
 So arbitrary and capricious was its imposition, that it
was akin to being “struck by lightning” according to
one justice of the Court
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Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
Declared the death penalty constitutional again after
states revised death penalty laws to reduce discretion
and provided safeguards against arbitrary and
capricious imposition
 Bifurcated trial
 The first execution after Gregg occurred in 1977, with
Gary Gilmore put to death in Utah by firing squad
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THE DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES
BEFORE SIMMONS
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Background
 First American juvenile execution occurred in
1642 (Thomas Graunger)
 For the crime of beastiality (“the crime of
having a sexual connection with an animal”)
 Reflects the colonial American’s view of crime
and punishment
 For the most part, children were little people
in big people’s clothing
 Received adult punishments for their acts
THE DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES
BEFORE SIMMONS
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The Laws and Practices Before Simmons
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Before Simmons, 31 states and federal government prohibited
the execution of persons under 18, or had no death penalty law
Nineteen states allowed those under 18 to be executed
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As of February 2004, there were 73 juveniles on death row in
the U.S. (2% of death row population)
Profile of these 73 can be summarized as all males, minority
group members, who committed their crimes at age 17 (83% at
age 17)
Only 8 juveniles had been sentenced to death from 2002-2004
Only 22 juveniles have been executed since 1977
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Only 12 had juveniles on death row, and only 7 had carried out a
juvenile execution
Note: Juvenile refers to the age at time of crime, but executions of
juveniles do not take place until the early to mid-twenties, on
average
Juveniles on death row disproportionately come from a
“disadvantaged underclass” of American society
THE DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES
BEFORE SIMMONS
 U.S.
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Eddings v. Oklahoma (1982)
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Executing a person who committed a capital crime at age 15
and younger is unconstitutional
Stanford v. Kentucky and Wilkins v. Missouri (1989)
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Age is a relevant mitigating factor when deciding whether
death should be imposed
Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988)
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Supreme Court Cases Before Simmons
Executing a person who was 16 or 17 years old at the time of
their capital crime is not unconstitutional
Note: The crucial age before Simmons that
determined death penalty eligibility for
juveniles was the age at the time of crime—not
the age at arrest, trial, or sentencing
THE DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES
BEFORE SIMMONS
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“Evolving Standards of Decency’ as a Test for
Constitutionality
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When determining whether a punishment is constitutional
under the 8th Amendment, the Court uses the “evolving
standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing
society”
Various factors are consulted to determine what the
“standards of society” are for a particular punishment:
Law of various states
 How often penalty is used
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Prosecutor decision making and jury willingness to impose
Public opinion
 Whether penalty is proportionate to offense
 Whether other countries use the penalty
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The standard is highly subjective—some factors carry more
weight than other for certain justices of the Court
DEVELOPMENTS BEFORE SIMMONS
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Infrequent Executions
 The execution of persons who committed
crimes as juveniles is very rare
 The most recent juvenile execution was in
Oklahoma in 2003
 A jury failed to sentence Lee Boyd Malvo to
death for sniper killings
 Only two states (Texas and Virginia) have
executed juveniles with any frequency
DEVELOPMENTS BEFORE SIMMONS
 The
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The U.S. was one of only 8 countries known to
impose death on those whose crimes were
committed prior to age 18 as of 2004
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International Scene
All of these countries have now disavowed the
practice or abolished the death penalty for juveniles
International laws sees the issue as a human
rights issue
Despite international law banning execution of
juvenile offenders, the U.S. did not subscribe
to certain portions that would prohibit juvenile
executions
DEVELOPMENTS BEFORE SIMMONS
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Atkins v. Virginia (2002): A Judicial Precedent
for Simmons
 Executing a “mentally retarded offender”
(term used by the Court) is unconstitutional
 Factors relied on by the Court:
 Reluctance of juries to impose death
 Infrequency of executions
 Opposition of authoritative organizations
(ABA)
 Practices in other countries
 Atkins was important precedent for the Court
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005): THE DEATH
PENALTY FOR JUVENILES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
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The Holding and the Issue in Roper
 Affirmed a Missouri Supreme Court decision
 “the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid
imposition of the death penalty on offenders who
were under 18 when their crimes were committed”
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005): THE DEATH
PENALTY FOR JUVENILES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
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The Facts
 17 year old Christopher Simmons (and two
accomplices) killed Shirley Crook in 1993 by tying
her up, duct taping her mouth and eyes, and
throwing her over a bridge into the water
 Simmons said he wanted to “murder someone” and
he could get away with it because he was a juvenile
 Simmons confessed to the murder under
interrogation
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005): THE DEATH PENALTY
FOR JUVENILES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
 The
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Facts (cont…)
Simmons was charged with burglary, kidnapping,
stealing, and murder
Simmons was waived to adult court and tried and
convicted
After Atkins v. Virginia in 2002, Simmons appealed
his conviction
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled it was
unconstitutional to execute persons who committed
crimes before they were 18—which went against
Court precedent
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this ruling
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005): THE DEATH PENALTY
FOR JUVENILES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
 Unusual
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Circumstances
The Simmons case was a way for the Court to hear
a death penalty case involving juveniles even after
they declined two years prior (in In re Stanford)
Missouri Supreme Court was bold in going against
Court precedent in Stanford v. Kentucky
A Court vote was already known because of public
opposition of the juvenile death penalty by some
Court members
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005): THE DEATH PENALTY
FOR JUVENILES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
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The Majority Opinion by Five Justices
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Evolving standards of decency have now reached a point where
executing a juvenile is cruel and unusual
Since Stanford several states which allowed the juvenile death
penalty have abandoned the practice by law or judicial
decision
Juveniles are less mature than adults, more vulnerable to peer
pressure, and the character of the juvenile is not well formed
Retribution and deterrence apply with less force to juveniles
than adults
Eighteen years of age is the point for distinguishing many
purposes between childhood and adulthood, it is the age at
which the time for the death penalty should be drawn
The death penalty is a disproportionate punishment for
juveniles
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005): THE DEATH
PENALTY FOR JUVENILES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The Dissenting Opinions by Four Justices
(O’Connor)
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Objective evidence and societal values do not justify this ruling
The majority opinion does not reflect the “evolving standards
of decency.” Their decision rests on moral judgment
Very little has changed since the Court’s decision in
Stanford—overruling it is unwarranted
Some juveniles may be as culpable as adults
The Eighth Amendment does not, at this time, forbid capital
punishment of 17 year old murderers
There is not clear showing that a genuine national consensus
forbids the execution of juveniles
The court should not subject its own subjective judgment on
how best to resolve this moral question
ROPER V. SIMMONS (2005): THE DEATH
PENALTY FOR JUVENILES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
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The Dissenting Opinions by Four Justices (Scalia)
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The meaning of the Eighth Amendment should not be determined
by five members of the court and like-minded foreigners
The decision should be left to state legislatures
A national consensus against executing juveniles has not emerged
The force driving the decision is the Court’s own judgment that
murders younger than 18 cannot be as morally culpable as older
counterparts
Scientific and sociological studies cited have not been established
as methodologically sound
The claim that retribution and deterrence are not served by
executing murderers under 18 is false
U.S. laws should not have to conform to laws of the rest of the
world
The U.S. should not be influenced by what the rest of the world
does
“This is no way to run a legal system.”
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER ROPER V. SIMMONS?
For now, sentencing and execution of persons
who committed capital crimes prior to age 18 will
cease
 The juvenile death penalty is not gone forever,
the Court may reverse itself in a future case
 Juveniles on death row now will likely have their
sentences commuted to life in prison, and
depending on state law, such a sentence may be
with or without the possibility of parole
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