At the age of 17, Christopher Simmons planned and pursued his plan of kidnapping, tying up, and throwing his neighbor, Shirley Crook off of a bridge. Missouri attorneys claim that Simmons boasted about his plan of killing his neighbor. Thinking that he could get away with it because he was only 17 years old, which is not fair. But other attorneys claim that Simmons should not get the death penalty because it violates the 8th amendment. Considering Simmons still committed murder and put the innocent women to a cruel death, he should have been given the death penalty.
In 1993, Christopher Simmons wanted to kill his neighbor, Shirley Crook. Why in the world would a young, 17 year old boy want to do something so evil? That was the question many
…show more content…
Shirley Crook was an innocent woman who was living a normal life happily married, with children when her life was instantly taken away from her in a painful way. All because of a teenager who was trying to see if he could murder someone without getting caught or punished for it. The death penalty should be given to anyone at any age who committed murder with the intention or plan to do it. There are different circumstances in each case and with these there should be no mercy given to this boy. The male brain isn’t fully developed until the age of 25 years, but by the age of 17, it should be able to think wisely and function on its own. Christopher Simmons killed this innocent woman and more punishment should have been given than what was. Simmons will sit in prison thinking that he got away with it. This does not set a good example for the younger generation, that if you want to murder someone then you can and you don't receive the death penalty, but jail for life. The death penalty was legal for minors in the State of Missouri, the death penalty was a fair punishment for Christopher Simmons and would have been the wisest punishment to give. No mercy should have been given to Simmons on this action. This case that is unfair will forever be a milestone in Supreme Court
Unjust Seventeen years ago, high schooler Hae Min Lee was murdered and buried in a shallow grave. After a controversial investigation and trial, her ex boyfriend Adnan Syed was sentenced to life in prison. He was nineteen years old. But Adnan Syed did not kill Hae Lee; not only is there evidence to support his innocence, the evidence against Syed crumbles under pressure and the sole reason he was convicted is because the justice system failed him. To begin, Adnan Syed simply did not murder his friend Hae Lee.
After the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed his conviction, his death sentence, and the denial of post-conviction relief, Simmons sought a writ of habeas corpus from the court, arguing that the prohibitions on “cruel and unusual punishment” imposed by article I section 21 of the Missouri Construction and by the Eight Amendment of the United States Construction bar the execution of an individual who committed a capital crime when under the age of eighteen” (EIGHTH AMENDMENT -- DEATH PENALTY -- MISSOURI SUPREME COURT HOLDS THAT THE JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY VIOLATES THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT. ,
1. Was the Revised Criminal Statute 320-1 of the State of Oceana properly applied to this case? Yes. According to Revised Criminal Statute 320-1 of the state of Oceana, any person who knowingly and intentionally takes the life of another is guilty of murder.
Imagine being the “chosen one” on a kill list made by your friends. One of the many teen cases in juvenile justice was the disgraceful murder of a 16 year old student, Cassie Stoddart, murdered by her two friends, Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper on September 22, 2006. Both Torey and Brian were found guilty of First Degree Murder, charged as adults, and given life in prison with no possibility of parole plus 30 years for committing. I believe their punishment is deemed fair and right. Background on victim Cassie Stoddart was a bright, young, responsible, and popular student; She was always told she had the perfect life, perfect grades, and was always praised by many in her community.
The court’s opinion on this case, overturning the death penalty, I personally agree with. This case addresses the Eighth Amendment, cruel and unusual punishment and sentencing a juvenile to the death penalty violates Simmons’s Eighth Amendment Right. Simmons being 17 years of age, impulsive, immaturity, behavior changes, alcohol and drug abuse, and bad home environment is crucial to his behavior. These facts all play a role in this case; however, were not addressed during the sentencing process. During closing arguments the defense harped on Simmons’s age; to remind the jurors that legislatures made laws that prohibited juveniles from drinking, serving on juries, even buying or renting R rated movies believing that individuals under a certain age simply are not responsible enough.
He also tried to reach for a deputy’s gun, in which he again was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Simmons kept waiving his rights to appeal, to try to get away with being “insane”. This shows that he was for sure competent enough to think about those things, so what exactly was wrong with this man? Then finally in 1990, with Simmons accepting his fate, Bill Clinton signed his death warrant for June 25, 1990. This was the fastest sentence to death ever since the death penalty was put into
At the police station, he waived his rights and after a short interrogation, Simmons confessed to the murder (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). He also agreed to make a video reenactment of exactly what happened (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). At 17 years old, Simmons was charged with burglary, kidnapping, theft, and 1st degree murder. In Missouri, Simmons was tried as an adult being that he was 17 years old and committed murder (Roper v. Simmons, 2005). His confession and reenactment were used against him at trial as well as other evidence such as his planning it out and bragging about it (Roper v. Simmons, 2005).
According to JK Rowling in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, “Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe.” On January 13, 1999 Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School, Baltimore, Maryland disappeared. Almost a month later, on February 9, 1999, her body was found lifeless in Leakin Park. Moreover, the results of the autopsy stated that the victim died of manual strangulation. In the most unfortunate cases, the crime was blamed on her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, who got convicted of first degree murder serving a life sentence in jail.
This case was not just an event in history, but a strong point that supported and still supports equality to this day. People can use this case to help support their reasoning for what they believe in and why certain actions should
Crimes are happening around us whether we pay attention to them or not. Those crimes as dangerous as murder are committed by all ages but should younger criminal in their juvenile age received the same punishment as older criminals. On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles committed murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violates the Eighth Amendment.(On-Demand Writing Assignment Juvenile Justice) Advocates on the concurring side believes that mandatory life in prison is wrong and should be abolish. However, the dissenting side believe that keeping the there should be a life in prison punishment for juvenile who commit heinous crime regardless of their age.
Katherine Knight 1 OVERVIEW OF THE CRIME On February 29th of 2000, after finally getting fed up with the constant assaults he endured from his partner; Katherine Knight, John price went to the Scone Magistrates court to take out an apprehended violence order (AVO) against Katherine, in a hope to keep her away from his kids and himself once and for all. Later that night, an unknowing Katherine Knight turned up to John Price’s house and they went on to have sexual intercourse. After this, Knight stabbed Price in his sleep, resulting in Price attempting to run away down the hall, this, however was an unsuccessful attempt and knight ended up stabbing him at-least a further 36 times.
It’s Not working out. By:Taija Jones. The 8th amendment says “Excessive bail shall not be required, Nor excessive fines imposed, Nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” . With that being said if the 8th amendment applies for cruel punishments of death penalties then why is it still happening.
I feel as though every time I look up I see the same heartbreaking headline: Black Person Killed by Cop. It seems as if the unjustified killing will never end, and to make matters worse, our supposed protectors, the men in blue are not even being charged for the murder of these people, or if they do, the time they serve is little to nothing. We have all seen the videos, the evidence that would put anyone else in jail for quite some time, and yet these vile actions go unpunished. There have been far too many cases of police brutality and not enough justice for black citizens. The fear that black people cannot go on, and racial profiling must end so that we can live our lives in peace.
Cullen couldn’t control his anger, and lacked a conscience which he demonstrated when he tried to fight against bullying by spiking drinks at a party with rat poison (Jennifer Hash, 2006, p.1). Charles believed that being victim of bullying justifies killing people. He justified killing people because he thought of himself as a victim. He was the target of bullying in school and in the Navy. Then, both his mother and brother died young.
12 Angry Men Interview Interview script: Juror No. 8 [The interviewer stands and greets Juror No. 8. He takes off his coat and sits down.] Interviewer: [smiling gently] Hello No. 8, how are you?