In 1993, Christopher Simmons, at 17 years old, was sentenced to death for the murder of Shirley Crook, an innocent old woman. In 2002, Simmons execution was stayed by the Missouri Supreme Court “while the U.S. Supreme Court decided Atkins v. Virginia, a case that dealt with the execution of the mentally disabled.” (Roper v. Simmons) The majority of the American population found the execution of the mentally disabled to be cruel and unusual so the Supreme Court ruled that under the Eighth Amendment, executing the mentally disabled was unconstitutional. Using the reasoning in the Atkins decision, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the execution of minors was cruel and unusual because American sentiment, the court viewed, had shifted towards …show more content…
Using Roper v Simmons and the Atkins v. Virginia cases as precedent, the death penalty is unconstitutional because the majority of the American public believes that it is a cruel and unusual punishment that violates the Eighth Amendment. According to the majority brief for Roper v Simmons, the reason that Stanford v Kentucky (1989), a similar case prior to Roper v Simmons, held that the death penalty for minors was constitutional was because “these numbers, [25 of 37 states that had the death penalty permitted it for minors] in the Court’s view, indicated there was no national consensus sufficient to label a particular punishment cruel and unusual.” (Roper v. Simmons) In 2005, when Roper v Simmons passed, the American sentiment over the execution of minors had shifted. Similarly, American sentiment on the death penalty has also changed. While it is true that the death penalty is still legal in 31 states, the majority of those states have not put anyone to death in at least the last five years, specifically 16 of the 31 states. In fact, a new study published by Harvard researchers in 2016 found that the drivers behind the death penalty are concentrated in just 16 counties. Scattered throughout Texas, Alabama, and Florida, these counties, “known as ‘outlier’ counties” tend to have a few things in common: “overzealous prosecutors, inadequate defense attorneys, and racial bias.” (Cheng,
Abraham Lincoln became the United States ' 16th President in 1861, delivering the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. If there is a part of the United States History that best characterizes it, is the interminable fight for the Civil Rights. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal”.
The Fourth (IV) Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses paper, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized" (U.S Constitution, Fourth Amendment, Legal Information Institute). The fourth amendment is a delicate subject and there is a fine line between the fourth amendment and 'unreasonable search and seizure. '
The Tenth Amendment was ratified along with the rest of the Bill of Rights on December 17th, 1791, as well, unlike most other amendments, it gave rights not only to the people, but also to the state governments. The Tenth Amendment was passed in order to delegate powers to the state governments and the people that the national government does not have, this amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”
In the United States Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons of 2005 the Supreme Court ruled in a five to four ruling that the death sentence for minors was considered “cruel and unusual punishment,” as stated by the Eighth Amendment, according to the Oyez Project online database. Christopher Simmons, the plaintiff, was only seventeen at the time of his conviction of murder. With the Roper v Simmons, 2005 Supreme Court ruling against applying the death penalty to minors, this also turned over a previous 1989 ruling of Stanford v. Kentucky that stated the death penalty was permissible for those over the age of sixteen who had committed a capital offense. The Roper v. Simmons is one of those landmark Supreme Court cases that impacted, and changed Simmons had become a landmark case, it quickly brought it into the sight of the public, as well as the legislative branch. With growing public dissent against using foreign law in national cases, Congress even entertained the idea of reprimanding, or revoking, the Supreme Court’s ability to employ international references when it came to such instances (“Debate Over Foreign Law in Roper v. Simmons”).
Donald P. Roper v. Simmons case was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18. The immediate consequence of Roper was that it saved the lives of 72 individuals who were condemned to die for crimes they committed as children. And as a consequence of murder he is now spending a long life time in prison. furthermore a consequence of Simmons actions, his family has to endure the imprisonment of there son or brother and he has to face trials for his freedom, whilst being in
The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments are part of the Bill of Rights which includes the first ten Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. These rights apply to the citizens of our great country. The Fourth Amendment covers search laws and has a significant impact on law enforcement procedures. If these procedural rights are not followed, there can be devastating consequences to the outcome of a case.
The eighth amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. New Cutting edge technology carries with it the likelihood of new treatment for criminals. A fictional example of such technology is Ludovico treatment, which alters the consciousness of a criminal and makes them non-violent. The use of the Ludovico treatment on prisoners can be considered a cruel and unusual punishment and thus violate the eighth amendment. Even though this treatment may be technically unconstitutional, it would be allowed in the United States for the betterment of society.
...s was a federal case and a federal ruling which means that this new law outlawing the execution of anyone under the age of eighteen at the time of the crime extended its reach over the entire United States. This also overruled all state laws allowing juvenile executions. The Roper v. Simmons ruling overturned the decision from Stanford v. Kentucky which allowed the death penalty for juvenile offenders over the age of sixteen.
The Bill of Rights is a very important document to American citizens. The Bill of Rights is the beginning part of the American Constitution which is made of the first ten amendments which state our basic rights as United States’ citizens. It ensures us of our freedoms that cannot be taken away from us. However, I do believe that there is a certain amendment out of the ten that should be revised; this would be the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment reads “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” (Legal Dictionary). I believe that this is the only amendment that needs to be revised in the Bill of Rights. I think that if someone was to commit a horrendous crime that excessive bail and fines or cruel and unusual punishments could be necessary in some extreme cases. I am not saying that it is okay that someone should be beheaded, burned alive, or being dissected publically (Cornell Law), but some more minor things could be in ways acceptable. However, I do find it very reasonable to hold someone with excessive bails and/or fines. I think that it is very fair if the government was to hold a bail or fine that is extremely high on someone if they commit certain crimes. If I were personally able to rewrite the Eighth Amendment I would write it as “Excessive bail or fines should not be imposed unless it fits the crime committed, cruel and unusual punishment should also not be imposed unless the need was to arise where the crime was extreme enough for all the jury members should agree on a cruel or unusual punishment.” I think that the Eighth Amendment should be revised because of the extreme crimes that are now being committed are far worse to those compared to...
A court case that made it to the Supreme Court was the case of Kevin Nigel Stanford, who was convicted in 1981 of a murder committed in Kentucky when he was 17 years and 4 months old. Stanford and an accomplice repeatedly raped and sodomized a 20-year-old woman during the robbery of a gas station where she worked. The men took her to a wooded area, and Stanford shot her straight in the face, then in the back of the head, to prevent her from testifying against him. Stanford's case first came to the Supreme Court in 1989. In the decision Stanford vs. Kentucky, a narrow Supreme Court majority ruled the execution of death row inmates who killed before they were 18 was not then cruel and unusual punishment, following the 8th amendment of the Constitution.
The 4th amendment of The Bill of Rights guarantees freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Henry David Thoreau once said, “That government is best which governs least," this statement is true because the more the government is involved, the more complicated life becomes for the people of the U.S. When government is too involved in something, it can soon becomes corrupt. The Safford Unified School District v. Redding was a case in 2009 where thirteen year old Savanna was suspected to have given prescription-strength ibuprofen to a friend in school, this resulted in the vice principal taking her backpack and searching for more pills. Nothing was found in Savanna’s backpack so she was sent by the vice principal to the nurse’s office to be stripped of all her clothes including her undergarments; again nothing was found. In this instance the school became overly involved for non-justifiable reasons which caused the situation to become corrupt. This is comparable to when the government and law enforcement is too involved in the citizen’s lives. It is of unjust law to search the American people without probable cause. The school strip searched Savanna illegally which
The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists were extremely concerned that the national government would trample their rights. Rhode Island and North Carolina refused to ratify until the framers added the Bill of Rights. These first ten amendments outlined things that the government could not do to its people. They are as such:
The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).
... rape or treason was committed ("8th Amendment to the Constitution – U.S. Amendment VIII Summary"). However, there are some cases where the death penalty is unacceptable regardless of the crime. In the Supreme Court case of Roper v Simmons the court decided that the execution of someone for a crime they committed when they were a minor violated the eighth amendment . The court case of Atkins v Virginia established that the death penalty is not an acceptable punishment for mentally ill felons (Lemieux, "The Supreme Court's Empty Eighth Amendment Promise"). The Supreme Court has also ruled that executing anyone under the age of 18 is an act of cruel and unusual punishment ("8th Amendment to the Constitution – U.S. Amendment VIII Summary"). The death penalty is the worst punishment a person could get, and because of that there are many restrictions on when to use it.
During those years, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, this ended in 1976, when the Supreme Court reversed the ruling. They stated that the punishment of sentencing one to death does not perpetually infringe the Constitution. Richard Nixon said, “Contrary to the views of some social theorists, I am convinced that the death penalty can be an effective deterrent against specific crimes. ”1 Whether the case be morally, monetarily, or just pure disagreement, citizens have argued the benefits of capital punishment.