...uses of the notion of human dignity. In 1972, in Furman v. Georgia, the United States Supreme Court declared all existing death penalty statutes at the time unconstitutional as a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment". There was no majority opinion, and each of the five majority members wrote a separate opinion. While three of them based their decision on the arbitrary and discriminatory application of the death penalty in the U.S., Justices Brennan and Marshall based their opinions on the per-se unconstitutionality of capital punishment. Justice Brennan argued that although human dignity is not explicitly guaranteed by the United States Constitution, it is the fundamental concept underlying the Eighth Amendment. In his opinion: "The State, even as it punishes, must treat its members with respect for their intrinsic worth as human beings. A punishment is "cruel and unusual, therefore, "if it does not comport with human dignity". He declared that the severity of capital punishment is degrading to the dignity of a man, and since even the vilest criminals share an inherent dignity, the punishment is unconstitutional. Though in Brennan words human dignity functions as a justification for the Eight Amendment, they seem to illustrate the psychological approach to the meaning of human dignity. In 1976, the nationwide ban that was imposed on the capital punishment was over turned in Gregg v. Georgia. Gregg was convicted of murder and was sentenced...
Words: 2734 - Pages: 11
...A study in California found that those who killed whites were over 3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks. (Pierce & Radelet, Santa Clara Law Review, 2005). For over one hundred years there have been adamant efforts to abolish capital punishment in America. (Davis, 1957) The death penalty has been a constant controversy amongst American citizens. There are many standpoints to be taken on the dispute. Supporters of the death penalty plead that it can be justified with sufficient due process, while others contradict that a human’s life is irreplaceable and that every person has the right to live. In order to gain a deeper understanding and a better idea of the death penalty and its development into modern day society, it is crucial to examine the historical lawsuits that have been decided in favor or against the capital punishment in America. In 1987 a monumental lawsuit hit the Supreme Court. McCleskey vs. Kemp 481 U.S. 279, (1987), ruling that McCleskey was to be sentenced to death for an armed robbery that resulted in the murder of a police officer. Appealing for his life, McCleskey argued that studies proved that racial discrimination lived with in capital punishment rulings. He heavily relied on a study conducted by Professor David C. Baldus also known as “Baldus Study”. His study concluded that black defendants were more likely to be punished with capital punishment than white defendants, especially if the victim was white. McCleskey...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...sentenced him to the worst possible sentence, death. The jury determined that there were aggravating factors, because of the extremely heinous crime and severity of the child’s injuries, and sentenced him to death under Louisiana’s aggravated rape statute. This statute stated that a sentence of death could be imposed for a conviction of rape of a child under the age of 12 (Cornell University Law School, 2008). Upon receiving his sentence of death, Kennedy appealed his case first to the Louisiana Supreme Court on the grounds that the death penalty was “cruel and unusual punishment” for a crime where the victim did not die (Cornell University Law School, 2008). The Louisiana Supreme Court noted two cases, Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons. These cases were used to determine whether there was a national consensus on the punishment of death and then they were applied to determine whether the court would find the punishment excessive (The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2013). The Louisiana Supreme Court felt that the adoption of similar laws in five other states, coupled with the unique...
Words: 707 - Pages: 3
...Week Two Worksheet Part I: Case Review Review the cases below by going to the “Detailed Contents” section of the Contemporary Criminal Law textbook. After reviewing the case, select the defense that was represented in the case from the following list: necessity | self-defense | defense of others | defense of home and property | resisting unlawful arrest | consent | duress | intoxication | mistake | age or infancy defense | entrapment | syndrome-based defenses | insanity defense | | | 1. Case 1: State v. Dejarlais State v. Dejarlais section in Ch. 8 of Contemporary Criminal Law Defense used: Consent 2. Case 2: Lopez v. State Lopez v. State section in Ch. 9 of Contemporary Criminal Law Defense used: Insanity Defense 3. Case 3: People v. Ceballos People v. Ceballos section in Ch. 8 of Contemporary Criminal Law Defense used: Defense of Home and Property, Necessity 4. Case 3: Brazil v. State Brazill v. State section in Ch. 9 of Contemporary Criminal Law Defense used: Age or Infancy Defense Part II: Short Answer Answer, in a minimum of 50 words, each of the following questions: 1. What is the adversarial system? The adversarial system, also known as adversary system. Many also refer to it as the legal system. They develop and present any arguments, gather, and submit any evidence they may have, as well as questioning any witnesses. Both parties are represented by attorneys, and they are present before an...
Words: 648 - Pages: 3
...young offenders in adult prisons heightens criminal behaviors after release according to the findings. There is well founded fear that several number of young offenders slated to be placed in adult jails are more likely to be assaulted ,commit suicide and raped. Juveniles are driven to desperation and abused regularly in adult prisons because they are not specific measures to protect the young offenders from the adult prisoners. My completes work Case summary Issue Roper v. Simmons’ main issue is whether the application of Death penalty on a person who committed murder at age 17 amounts to “Cruel and Unusual” sentence and thereby barred by the 8th and 14th Amendments (Dinkes, et al 2009) Facts The Supreme Court of the United States initiated a review of the case against Christopher Simmons to determine whether death penalty was allowed by constitution for persons under the age of 18 at the time of crime commission. The case concerned Christopher Simmons arrested at the age of 17 for Shirley Crook’s murder. Simmons had been found of a first-degree murder and had subsequently been...
Words: 887 - Pages: 4
...Title: Roper V. Simmons Facts of the case: The respondent Simmons, at the age of 17, already had planned and committed a capital murder. When Simmons had already turned 18, he was sentenced to death. Although, when the court had already decided to execute Simmons, the court then held because due to the Eighth Amendment, through the Fourteenth Amendment, it is prohibited to execute a mentally retarded person. The Eighth Amendment says that excessive bail is not required, nor excessive fines imposed, and cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. Simmons decided to field a new petition for state postconviction relief, arguing that due to the Atkins’ reasoning that was established in the constitution do not approves the execution of a juvenile who...
Words: 375 - Pages: 2
...In the year of 2004, within the case of Roper V. Simmons it was led to believe a constitutional right had been violated. When Christopher Simmons had been sentenced to death for the murder of Donald P. Roper. The Missouri Court cited numerous laws that passed since 1989, that held national opinion which changed. Using the reasoning from the Atkins case, it was decided, 6-to-3, that it was not unconstitutional to execute minors, was no longer valid. Many appeals were made but, were not acknowledged by the court or its judges. Therefore Simmons was to remain in prison until it was decided whether or not his Fourteenth and Eighth Amendment were violated. It was a warm afternoon when Christopher Simmons knew exactly what he was getting himself...
Words: 328 - Pages: 2
...Aubrey Grudowski Criminal Law Case Brief STANFORD v. KENTUCKY, 492 U.S. 361 (1989) 492 U.S. 361 STANFORD v. KENTUCKY CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF KENTUCKY JUSTICE SCALIA FACTS Petitioner in No. 87-5765 was about seventeen years and four months of age when he committed murder in Kentucky. After a juvenile court and several hearings he went to trial as an adult in a category for those who have committed Class A felonies or those under age sixteen who have been charged with a felony. This Petitioner was sentenced to death due to the fact he commit murder in the first degree. The death sentence was agreed upon, his contention rejected, and the mitigating circumstances considering his age, meaning he had a constitutional right to the juvenile justice system. PROCEDURAL HISTORY A societal consensus was gathered that a far smaller number of those convicted under 18 have been sentenced to death than over 18. When the Bill of Rights were written, punishments were considered cruel and unusual, therefore the 8th amendment was added to the constitution, Ford v. Wainwright. Or evolving to make society more decent to prove the maturity, Trop v. Dulles. Petitioners have not mentioned that their punishments would have been considered cruel in the 18th century. With the common-law tradition, at least 281 offenders under 18, and 126 under 17, have been executed in this country. Also, with the cases 488 U.S. 887 (1988) and 487 U.S. 1233 (1988), certiorari was granted...
Words: 365 - Pages: 2
...Kennedy v Louisiana 554 U.S. 407 Facts: On June 25th 2008, Patrick Kennedy was found guilty of raping and sodomizing his eight year old stepdaughter. The rape was so brutal that the victim needed invasive surgery. When questioned about the crime, Kennedy claimed that two neighborhood boys committed the crime. But when enough evidence was gathered to prove Kennedy’s guilt, he was offered a deal to spare him his life and he finally admitted to his crime. He was then convicted in 2003 and sentenced under a specific Louisiana Law that allowed the death penalty for the rape of a child under the age of 14. Legal Question: Does the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause permit a State to use the death penalty to punish the crime of rape of a child? Does Louisiana's capital rape statute violate the Eighth Amendment insofar as it fails genuinely to narrow the class of such offenders eligible for the death penalty? Is the sentence for the death penalty too harsh for solely a child rape? Or is the death penalty no harsh enough for such a heinous crime? Do states violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment by imposing the death sentence for the crime of child rape? Decision: Yes (5-4 Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered the opinion of the court) Court’s Rationale: Kennedy was only one of two men facing death row for a crime other than murder. On June 25, 2008 the court was 5-4 on the death sentence held that. Claiming and holding "[t]he...
Words: 385 - Pages: 2
...Roper v. Simmons was a United States Supreme Court case that was first argued on October 13th, 2004 and finally decided on March 1st, 2005. In the case, a 17 year old boy named Christopher Simmons thought out, planned, and acted upon his desire to murder. He discussed his plan to two of his friends, Charles Benjamin (15) and John Tessmer (16) shortly before the murder. Simmons tried to convince his friends that they could get away with the unspeakable crime simply because they were minors. In Simmons plan, he stated that he would first commit burglary by breaking and entering the victims home before tying them up and throwing them off a bridge to kill them. The three of them met up the night of the murder, but John Tessmer decided to back out of the plan and go home. This didn’t...
Words: 574 - Pages: 3
...As I have endured the Juvenile Justice course I have found some remarkable Supreme Court cases that in an essence changed the way juveniles are prosecuted today. The first case I will discuss is the Roper v. Simmon case in 1993 and the sentencing change in 2004. The second case is Yarborough v. Alvarado in 2004. I will discuss criminal justice theories that may help explain the crime. The juvenile courts and juvenile corrections prosecution and punishment of minor persons accused in each case. Also, the victims’ family’s reaction to the legislations decision to change the law in each case. This discussion should illustrate a clear picture of the importance each case played in the juvenile justice system. The Roper v. Simmons case starting...
Words: 1475 - Pages: 6
...Christopher Simmons was sentenced to the death penalty after committing capital murder of a young woman. The penalty was sentenced soon after he turned the age of eighteen. After a series of appeals were sent to federal and state courts the case landed at the Missouri State Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court had opposite standings on the execution of Christopher Simmons, while the Missouri Supreme Court wanted Simmons to be executed still after multiple appeals and protests went on, the U.S. Supreme...
Words: 1621 - Pages: 7
...opportunity for parole review and is condemned to die in prison” (Citizens for Juvenile Justice, 2008). For some, the idea of having a child spend the rest of their natural lives behind bars for capital and even noncapital crimes can be daunting and unfair. For many young people, they are at the point in their young lives where they are still trying to figure out who they are and they willingly test certain boundaries. Life in prison without parole attempts to snuff out what little life they have just begun to build. However, many would also argue that if you are capable of doing adult crimes and are willing to accept the responsibility of the crime, then you are capable of serving adult time. But with the landmark Supreme Court decision of Roper v. Simmons in 2005, the sentence of death is no longer possible for juveniles under the age of 18. This decision has changed our views about the level of a juvenile’s culpability and our response to such criminal offenses. Instead of facing...
Words: 5182 - Pages: 21
... With that being said, this paper will discuss the constitutionality of the death penalty. Controversy over the death penalty in the U.S. Supreme Court can be traced back to 1879 with Wilkerson v. Utah, which stated that the Utah territorial statue of execution by firing squad was not cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment of the U.S. constitution. (Wikipedia: Wilkerson v. Utah) In 1972, the United States Supreme Court struck down capital punishment, reducing all death...
Words: 1439 - Pages: 6
...Facts Christopher Simmons planned and committed the murder of Shirley Crook when he was 17 years old. On September 9, 1993, Christopher and two friends (Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer) entered the house of Shirley Crook, robbed her, tired her up with duct tape, electrical cords, and then tossed her body off a bridge. Christopher began to brag about killing Shirley to his friends, that it did not take long to arrest Christopher for the murder of Shirley. Shirley’s body was found in the Meramec River by a fisherman in St. Louis with bruises and broken ribs. According to the medical examiner, the cause of death was drowning. After, being arrested he was convicted of first-degree murder. The court found him guilty of first-degree murder and...
Words: 456 - Pages: 2
