Roper v. Simmons

Roper v. Simmons (2005) was a landmark Supreme Court case where the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute individuals for crimes they committed as juveniles under 18. The case involved Christopher Simmons, who was sentenced to death for a crime committed at age 17. The Court decided that executing minors violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, citing evolving standards of decency and the recognition that juveniles have different levels of maturity and culpability compared to adults. This ruling effectively ended the death penalty for juvenile offenders in the United States.