Untitled Document
Resources
“Executions barred for juvenile killers” Boston Globe. March 2, 2005. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/02/executions_barred_for_juvenile_killers/
“Excerpts From Opinions on Juvenile Death Penalty” New York Times. March 2, 2005. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/politics/02stext.html
Dissenting opinions in Roper v. Simmons. March 1, 2005. (click on dissent 1 and 2)
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=03-633
"High court reconsidering execution of minors" CNN.com. October 6, 2004. http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/06/colb.juvenile/
Discussion Questions
1. According to the Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons, at what age does one become culpable for capital crimes?
18 years old or older.
2. What reasons did the majority of the Court give for their ruling?
- The “cruel and unusual” clause in the 8 th Amendment to the Constitutionapplies to the execution of minors.
- Minors cannot fully understand the implications of their actions.
- The number of states that allow capital punishment but have outlawed the execution of minors (47%) constitutes a national consensus.
- Many other countries and human rights’ groups have condemned the practice.
3. Two dissenting opinions were written in this case. What reasons did Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas give for dissenting from the majority opinion?
- The number of states (18) that have outlawed the death penalty for minors does not reach the level of a national consensus on the issue.
- The states which permit the execution of minors realize that the national view of the death penalty evolves. They believe that the individual states can determine for themselves—according to their state constitutions—the constitutionality of the death penalty.
- The majority opinion takes international law into account. The dissenting agreed that international law should not dictate what is good for United States law.
- It is the obligation of the Court to be true to the Founders’ original intent. At the time the Constitution was written, the execution of minors was acceptable.
4. What reasons did Sandra Day O’Connor give for her dissent?
- Some 17 year olds are mature enough to deserve the death penalty for a capital crime.
- The decision about maturity is one that a jury is capable of making.
- More evidence is necessary to prove that society has reached a consensus that executing a juvenile criminal is wrong.
- Previous 8 th Amendment precedents would be called into question because of the ruling in this case.
- The majority opinion in this case is irreversible –17 year olds will never again be executed in the United States because of this ruling. The 8 th Amendment was intended to be more elastic.
5. Do you agree with the Court’s decision? Why or why not?
- Yes, the 8 th amendment’s “cruel and unusual” clause should apply to juveniles because the convicted criminal may not understand the implications of his or her actions.
- Yes, the Supreme Court had already decided that minors are protected until the age of 16 from execution. This current decision is a logical extension of these precedents.
- No, minors understand the implications of their actions just as adults do and should therefore be subject to the same possible penalties.
- No, the executions are not “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Extensions
Have students read the opinion of the Missouri Supreme Court (in green) in the case of Roper v. Simmons:
Break the students into groups, and have each group discuss and write out their own summary of what the affect the opinion/green text might have had on the Supreme Court’s decision.
