Missouri Supreme Court Throws Out Juvenile Death Sentence Based on Evolving Standards of Decency

In a 4 – 3 deci­sion to vacate the death sen­tence of juve­nile offend­er Christopher Simmons, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the juve­nile death penal­ty vio­lates the nation’s evolv­ing stan­dards of decen­cy and is there­fore uncon­sti­tu­tion­al. Noting that ​“a nation­al con­sen­sus has devel­oped against the exe­cu­tion of juve­nile offend­ers,” the Court’s opin­ion cit­ed evi­dence such as the grow­ing num­ber of states that have banned the prac­tice. The Court resen­tenced Simmons to life in prison with­out parole. According to the cur­rent statute law in Missouri, defen­dants age 16 and over at the time of their crime can be sen­tenced to death. That law had been upheld by a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court deci­sion. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 26, 2003). Sixteen oth­er states for­bid the death penal­ty for juve­niles. See Juvenile Death Penalty.