Roper V. Simmons Criminal Justice Case

In the the Supreme Court case Gregg Vs. Georgia, Justice Stewart concluded that “We now hold that the punishment of death does not invariably violate the Constitution.” (GREGG v. GEORGIA, 1976), answering the question of whether or not capital punishment is ever unconstitutional. Some may argue that Stewart is saying that the death penalty is sometimes considered constitutional, however, it is important to note that if we as Americans don’t enforce the constitutional rights of human beings at all times, the foundation of our nation will slowly begin to lose its strength. If in any way something can be declared as unconstitutional, then from there on out it will never fall into the realm of being constitutional. The Court has to come face to face with the claim that the administration of death, regardless of the offense, is a cruel and unusual punishment, is morally unethical for the government to be conducting, and is a violation of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court prohibits juveniles to be executed if they are under the age of 18 when they commit a crime. The Supreme Court uses the cases of Thompson v Oklahoma and Stanford v Kentucky to support the issue that it is immoral and inhumane to give the death penalty to juveniles. Atkins v Virginia allows the Court to look at the evolution of the standard of decency on the issue of juveniles of the death penalty and what kind of people are excluded from receiving the death sentences. Juveniles also should not be given the death penalty because the neural connections and functioning for tasks such as decision-making, judgment, and impulse control in the brain has not yet fully developed and therefore, juveniles commit certain acts and are less aware of the

Randy DeShaney, father of Joshua DeShaney, spent more time beating his four-year-old son than he did in prison. (Reidinger 49) Joshua’s mother, Melody DeShaney, sued the Winnebago County Department of Social Services alleging that they had deprived her son of his Fourteenth Amendment right. In order to understand the DeShaney v. Winnebago County Social Services Supreme Court case one must establish the history, examine the case, and explain the future impacts.

On July 23, 1995, Janet Downing was found stabbed to death in her Somerville, Massachusetts home. With strong compelling evidence and creditable eyewitness testimony, Edward O’Brien was arrested for Downing’s murder. O’Brien was only fifteen years old and good friends with Downing’s son Ryan at the time of the murder. The first initial hearing judged that O’Brien would be tried as a juvenile, however this judgment would later be reversed. At a second hearing, a new judge ordered O’Brien to be tried as an adult, based on the severity and cruelty of his crime. In the fall of 1997 after a two week trial, Edward O’Brien was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Janet Downing. He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole for his vicious crime.

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. I agree that abolishing the mandatory part but not abolishing the whole Juvenile Life Without Parole sentence because I believed that there are cases when a juveniles should get Juvenile Life Without Parole while there are juveniles who should not deserve it. Some deserve it because they non-repentance killers or to be serial killers while other should not deserve it because of the circumstances required them.

May 25, 1997, Sherrice Iverson, a 7-year-old girl lost the chance to grow up and live a full life. Jeremey Strohmeyer, a teenage boy walked into the women’s bathroom and intentionally molested and strangled the innocent child. David Cash was a key factor to whether that girl had a chance to a future or not. Choosing to ignore what he witnessed, he walked out of the bathroom leaving the teenage boy and 7 year old girl alone. Because of Cash’s decision, it created a controversial debate of whether he should continue to go to Berkeley.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that it is immoral to give juveniles life sentences, even if they commit a crime as serious as murder, because it is a cruel and unusual punishment. This has been an issue in America as teenagers are often treated as adults in court due to a belief that their crimes warrant a harsh punishment. Many believe that these kids should not be given such major sentences because they are still immature and do not have the self control that adults do. I agree that juveniles do not deserve life sentences because they put less thought and planning into these crimes and they often are less malicious than adults.

Juveniles should be tried as adults due to being aware of their crimes and having an intention to kill, however, brain development and maturity can play a role into the reason why teens kill. With being tried as an adult juveniles should be granted the opportunity of freedom pending on their rehabilitation status and if requirements are not met, convicts will have to complete the remainder of their sentence.

Sedrick Courtney was wrongfully convicted for the robbery on Shemita Greer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He spent 15 years of his life because of the eye-witness misidentification of Shemita Greer. “Sedrick Courtney is a 23 year old man wrongfully convicted and spent 15 years in jail” (Innocence Project). This shows how many years he has spent in jail innocent because of the government and one person’s mistake. The crime went down, and who the victim in it which is Shemita

The Eighth Amendment was created to prohibit cruel punishments that the colonists would receive from the British. The British brought colonists over to an unfair trial and then received punishment that sometimes would be death. The writers of the wanted to make sure that the colonists received the fair trial and fair punishment they deserve. The Eight Amendment was ratified in December 5, 1791 as a part of the Bill of Rights. The Eighth Amendment has not been changed since the ratification in 1791.

In Roper v. Simmons there are two issues that must be addressed, the first being the issue of moral maturity and culpability. The defense in the trial phase of this case argued that Mr. Simmons was an at an age where he was not responsible enough to fully understand the effects and consequences of his actions. The majority draws on Atkins v. Virginia to argue that this specific precedent supports their case that the death penalty should not be imposed on the mentally immature or impaired. However, an important point to be made is that the Atkins v. Virginia decision is geared towards the clinical definition of mental retardation: significant limitations that limit adaptive skills. Also, another important question to consider is the competency and premeditation of Mr. Simmons’ crime in this case. The argument that four months would be

Richard miles was wrongfully convicted of murder and attempted murder in 1995 based on eyewitness testimony, false or misleading forensic evidence and official misconduct. The evidence presented at his trial that is useful for this particular research paper is the eyewitness testimony. Thurman the witness in this case identified Miles as the gunman from a photospread that police had given him. Several other witnesses were shown the same photospread but could not identify Miles. Miles was charged with murder and attempted murder. During his trial the prosecution relied primarily on Thurman, who identified Miles in the courtroom. Miles did have two alibis but the prosecution argued that they were concocted. Miles was convicted of murder and attempted murder and was sentenced to 60 years. After his appeals were denied time after time Miles was finally exonerated after spending 15 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. (Law.umich.edu, 2017)(Richard Miles)

Wayne Williams is currently serving a life sentence for the murders of two adult men, but prosecutors believe Williams is responsible for killing twenty-three children during a time branded as the Atlanta Child Murders (Rowson, 2015). Since his conviction in 1982 Williams has professed his innocence, which has generated vast speculation among criminal justice experts concerning Williams’s involvement in these crimes (Rowson, 2015). A recent study conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the FBI, the Innocence Project, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers revealed that before 1999 the FBI used faulty hair analysis in 96 percent of cases (Rowson, 2015). Furthermore, Williams’ attorney received a letter from the DOJ

The first major court case to influence our treatment of juveniles today was the Kent v. United States. The case overall, made an impact on the treatment of juveniles today because now juveniles have a right to an attorney, the parents must be notified and either parents or a lawyer must be present during an interrogation, and juveniles must be reminded of his or her right to silence. The main thing that this case influenced was that courts must allow juveniles the right to defend themselves and to be heard when transferring a juvenile over to the adult system.

On a daily basis in the courtrooms across the world a person’s life is being determined to be set free, incarcerated for years, life or sometimes even sentenced to the death penalty. Not everyone receives fair justice, Some are unfairly punished for a crime they have never even committed, innocent people are put in jails just because of their gender, ethnicity, race, or even personal beliefs. In her book Devil's Knot The True Story of the West Memphis Three, Mara Leveritt describes actual details how the three children of West Memphis, Arkansas went missing and a day later were found brutally murdered near a canal. In her book Leveritt describes how brutal physical damages that were done to the children, the possible “evidence” that was found