Simmons Death Penalty
Should the death penalty be applied to juveniles?
I. Simmons and friends murder Shirley Cook
In the 1993 Missouri court case Ropers v. Simmons, Christopher Simmons (17 y/o), accompanied by his two friends Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, devised a plan to kill Shirley Cook. The full plan was to commit burglary and homicide by breaking and entering the residence, tying up the woman, and tossing the victim off a bridge (We the People). The night of the murder the three met at midnight, Tessmer later decided to drop out of the plan. Without Tessmer, Simmons and Benjamin broke into Mrs. Crook's home, bound her hands, covered her eyes, and then drove her to a state park and threw her off a bridge. Although Simmons later pleaded innocence because of the evidence, leading up to the crime, Simmons had expressed to his two friends that he wanted to murder someone (Roper v. Simmons). He deliberately planned this murder for months and presented his plan to his two friends who later played a significant role in the ruling.
II. Simmons, Benjamin, and Tessmer burglarized and murdered Shirley Crook …show more content…
Simmons had admitted to the homicide, performed a recorded reenactment at the crime scene, and had testimony from Tessmer against him that indicated intention. After the trial, the jury found him guilty. After the jury considered the cold, hard evidence, Simmons was sentenced to death. This sparked controversy within the court system and eventually worked its way up to higher courts (The Death Penalty for Juveniles). Simmons initially moved for the trial court to set aside the conviction and sentence, citing inadequate assistance of counsel. His age, and thus impulsiveness, along with a troubled background, were raised as issues. Simmons claimed this should've been addressed during the sentencing stage. The trial court dismissed the motion, so Simmons
I. Simmons and friends murder Shirley Cook
In the 1993 Missouri court case Ropers v. Simmons, Christopher Simmons (17 y/o), accompanied by his two friends Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, devised a plan to kill Shirley Cook. The full plan was to commit burglary and homicide by breaking and entering the residence, tying up the woman, and tossing the victim off a bridge (We the People). The night of the murder the three met at midnight, Tessmer later decided to drop out of the plan. Without Tessmer, Simmons and Benjamin broke into Mrs. Crook's home, bound her hands, covered her eyes, and then drove her to a state park and threw her off a bridge. Although Simmons later pleaded innocence because of the evidence, leading up to the crime, Simmons had expressed to his two friends that he wanted to murder someone (Roper v. Simmons). He deliberately planned this murder for months and presented his plan to his two friends who later played a significant role in the ruling.
II. Simmons, Benjamin, and Tessmer burglarized and murdered Shirley Crook …show more content…
Simmons had admitted to the homicide, performed a recorded reenactment at the crime scene, and had testimony from Tessmer against him that indicated intention. After the trial, the jury found him guilty. After the jury considered the cold, hard evidence, Simmons was sentenced to death. This sparked controversy within the court system and eventually worked its way up to higher courts (The Death Penalty for Juveniles). Simmons initially moved for the trial court to set aside the conviction and sentence, citing inadequate assistance of counsel. His age, and thus impulsiveness, along with a troubled background, were raised as issues. Simmons claimed this should've been addressed during the sentencing stage. The trial court dismissed the motion, so Simmons