The story regarding then seventeen year old Christopher Simmons is awful and I do not understand why people would abuse and torture people in the manner in which he did. According to the article, he had it in his mind that he just wanted to kill someone and it happened to be someone that he had prior contact with. No matter what state of mind he and the other juveniles were in, there was no excuse to treat Mrs. Crook the way that they did and murder her by throwing her off a bridge. It baffles my mind how cruel people can be, especially a juvenile; Simmons already had a plan in mind of how he wanted the crime to take place and I find this to be very sickening. Not only did he and the other juvenile murder someone, but they also committed a serious crime of burglary (www.law.cornell.edu). …show more content…
Oklahoma was considered in the case because of the similarity to this case involving a fifteen year old. Due to the manner of the crime and by Simmons being the lead perpetrator, the Thompson v. Oklahoma case was irrelevant. The court system has also reviewed the differences between adults and children when it comes to the death penalty. Children lack maturity, vulnerable to pressure from others, and they may be more susceptible to rehabilitation; I agree with the differences to a certain degree. If an adult has always sought attention from the wrong crowd, they could be pressured to do things just to stay in the click. I also disagree with the fact that children lack maturity; to a certain level they do as well as some adults. There are some adults that never reached the age of maturity, but that does not mean that they should get a lesser time when committing a crime just because they are not mature. Lastly, I believe anyone is capable of being rehabilitated no matter what age they are; if they have the desire and are willing to put in the work to be reformed, then they should be given that option with strict stipulations (Flynn, E.H,
After the assault, it was said the child, who prior to this was in healthy condition, had a failure to thrive and died several months later. He testified that he didn't know Bishop or who she was, but recognize her face and knew that she was the reason for his
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
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.
Kids ranging from 8-15 years are tried as a juvenile and to transfer the case into adult court, they would fill out an application to do so. Kids committing crimes such as armed robbery, rape, or even murder should be tried as an adult. This type of allegation will not go unseen just because he/ she is a child. Even though these criminals are children, they will not or should not be exempt from the law or juvenile justice system.
This brings me back to prop 66. In California “nearly two thousand murders occur annually and only fifteen death sentences are imposed”(prop 66 official voters guide). When the father of Hester Prynne’s child did not commit a murder or rape which those people who committed murder would be sentenced to death. Although prop 66 will bring justice to those families that have suffered great losses it still has it’s drawbacks, prop 66 is poorly written and might sentence innocent lives.
Simmons plotted this crime with some friends, who were also juveniles under age at the time. However, one of Simmons’ friends excluded himself from the plot to kill (murder), steal (burglarize), and destroy (a family). “He brought two younger friends into the plot. On the night of the murder, one friend opted out of the plan. Simmons and the remaining friend broke into the victim’s home, bound her with duct tape, drove to a bridge, and threw her over the bridge into the river below” (Legal Dictionary, n.d.).
There are certain instances of juveniles being tried as adults and sometimes ending up getting a life sentence without a chance of parole. I find that pretty harsh because there have been some cases where the juvenile meant no harm, they were either confused or brought along by gang members and they end up being charged along with the gang members for just being with them when a crime goes down. I believe that juveniles do not deserve to be given a life sentence because for one they are still maturing, they can learn from their mistakes and make amends, we still have to combat crimes like intended murder committed by a juvenile with extreme punishments especially if they are well over the age of 16. In the article published by the New York Times on March 14, 2012 “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, Garinger discusses that juveniles deserve a second chance since their brains are still developing.
Abstract 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.
Anthony Marston was a young, bold man. On November 14 Anthony killed John and Lucy Combes in a car accident,but showed no remorse. This caused him to be blamed of murder for the children’s death. Anthony was
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.
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. The article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” explains that the teenagers lose brain tissue that is responsible for self control and impulses (Thompson 7).
I had an extremely difficult time following the sequence of events. Once I read the entire case, I had to reread it several times just to make sure I was following the time sequence, evidence presented, and the court rulings. First, I do not comprehend how someone can be stabbed 29 times and there not be a single piece of DNA evidence somewhere! That just blows my mind, especially since all concerned in this case are a bunch of druggies. This group of individuals is not the most cautious of individuals.
In 1993 17 year old Christopher Simmons and two friends, John Tessmer and Charles Benjamin had planned to murder Shirley Crook. Then night of the murder one of the men , John Tessmer dropped out but Simmons and Benjamin carried out the plot. Around 2 am the men broke into Crook’s house through a window and committed robbery. Later, the two men entered Crook’s home and tied up the victim and covered her head. The suspects drove Crook to a nearby State park and threw her body into the Meramec river.
He seemed well spoken and put together even though he harmed himself and others this was probably the reason why mental illness had gone unnoticed for so long he was a weak looking elderly man when he committed and was charged with these crimes. These crimes did seem premeditated since he said in the letter that he had decided to kill the girl and he did use a fake name as well as come up with the story of a birthday party as well as had a cabin picked out for the murder the amount of effort he placed in the child's murder and the details are sicking. Which is why I support his death penalty especially since when he was sent to an institution they said he was safe to be in the public which means if he hadn't been given the death penalty he may have been released at some point since he seemed “sane” to people he
In our society, crimes are being committed not only by adults but by juveniles as well. By law as soon as a person turns 18 they are considered to be an adult. So what if an adult and a juvenile were to commit the same crime yet were sentenced differently simply based on the fact that one is a child and one is an adult? Juveniles are committing violent crimes just as adults and should be given the equal treatment and sentencing as adults receive. Juveniles aren’t completely ignorant as everyone seems to think.