A Matter of Months

September 28, 2009

According to Leading Constitutional Cases on Criminal Justice, 2006 Edition, at the age of seventeen Chritopher Simmons discussed with his friends that he wanted to commit a murder. His plan was to burglerize his target or victim, bind them, and throw them off of a bridge; ultimately drowning his victim. To make matters even creepier he bousted to his peers that he and whoever else involved would easily get away with his plan, simply because they were minors.
Simmons entered the home of Shirley Crook at around 2 a.m., upon entry into her bedroom Mr. Simmons found that his target was actually the women he had encountered months prior during a traffic collision. Duct taping Mrs. Crooks hands, eyes and mouth and eventually binding her hands and feet together with electrical wire, Mr. Simmons used her van, loading Mrs. Crook inside, and drove to what would become the scene of the crime. Mrs.Crook was thrown into the Meramec River where she drowned. Days after the murder Mr. Simmons had exclaimed to his peers that he had murdered a woman; his chilling remarks included "because the bitch seen my face" (p. 1167).
Later when in custody, Mr. Simmons expressed to authorities that when he realized he knew his victim, his intentions of murder became even more concrete.
Prescidence established from this case eventually brought it to the United States Supreme Court. Known as Roper v. Simmons (2005), it was found that no person under the age of 18 at the time of the crime is no longer eligible for the death penalty; found to be a violation of the Eighth Amendment(Weinreb 2006).
The reason for this discussion today isnt necessarily surrounding the decision of the Supreme Court alone; rather the mindset of Mr. Simmons and the fact that his offense was committed only months before his eighteenth birthday. I agree that it is more than appropriate to identify the age an individual is distinguished between an adult and a minor. However, when considering the offense committed by Mr. Simmons should a matter of months out-weigh the viciousness of his actions?
Forgive me if im being insensitive, but honestly, how much more mature can someone become in a matter of months? If Mr. Simmons had just turned seventeen or even sixteen and younger I believe it to be a much more definitive line between the actions of an adult and a minor. Granted I could argue theres not much difference between seventeen and eighteen, but lets remain on track for the sake of this specific case. It makes sense to take into consideration the actions Mr. Simmons expressed before, during and after his offense. However, it seems the Supreme Court was more satisfied in drawing a line between a minor and an adult rather than understanding the maturity it takes to commit such a ruthless act, especially when the offender is well aware of how serious the offense was.
As described above, before the offense Mr. Simmons claims that whoever involved wouldnt get into trouble because they were minors. Clearly highlighting that Mr. Simmons is well aware of the seriousness of the crime. Secondly, kidnapping and binding Mrs. Crooks regardless of knowing her clearly expresses a depraved heart. And last, yet more than likely bias, the simple fact that Mr. Simmons was bragging about his actions, in my eyes, he does not deserve the preservation of his life simply because it appears to violate the Eighth Amendment. After all, I believe all of us would agree that the actions of Mr. Simmons on that day was clearly cruel and unusual punishment.

When considering the death penalty what is it that truly sparks the debate on its existence? Could it be the methods used like lethal injection? Is it the possible hypocrisy in taking ones life? Is it a necessity for victim closure? Many issues of debate arise when highlighting this topic. Here, the idea is to focus on the younger offenders who can be sentenced to death. The overall goal is to not decide whether or not the death penalty should exist, but in correlation to those who are juvenile, should age alone be able to cease the implementation of the death penalty?
Before we can completely dissect this issue, consider this a possible reality in your life. If an immediate family member of yours was a victim in a brutal murder, in which the death penalty became relevant, how would you feel? Not only that, if you learned that the offender was seventeen, sixteen or possibly even fifteen would that change anything? On the other hand, what if that offender was a sibling, son, cousin, etc?