ROPER V. SIMMONS

SUMMARY

• Christopher Simmons murdered an elderly woman at age 17.
• 9 months later he was 18 and sentenced to death.
• He assured his buddies he would get away with it.
• Christopher admitted to: Murder, assault and theft.

The issue with Christian Simmons' case was he was 17 when he committed the crime and wasn't prosecuted and sentenced to death until after he turned 18.

The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed. The judgment of the Missouri Supreme Court setting aside the sentence of death imposed upon Christopher Simmons is affirmed.