Roper v. Simmons
- Decided
- March 1, 2005
- Docket
- 03-633
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,523 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that the Eighth Amendment prohibits execution of individuals under the age of eighteen at the time the capital offense is committed — United States v. Javonne Wilks (2006)
- holding that executions of individuals who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments — State v. Long (2014)
- holding that execution of individuals who were under 18 years of age at time of their capital crimes is unconstitutional — Wood v. State (2007)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*555] Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case requires us to address, for the second time in a decade and a half, whether it is permissible under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States to execute a juvenile offender who was older [*556] than 15 but younger than 18 when he committed a capital crime. In Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U. S. 361 (1989), a divided Court rejected the proposition that the Constitution bars capital punishment for juvenile offenders in this age group. We reconsider the question.
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005)Read the full opinion
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