Roper v. Simmons: Difference between revisions

In 1993, in the state of [[Missouri]] in 1993, 17-year-old Christopher Simmons concocted a plan to commit [[burglary]] and [[murder]], having previously told friends that he "wanted to kill someone" and that he "believed he could get away with it" because of his age.<ref>{{Bluebook journal|last=Myers|first=Wayne|year=2006|title=Roper v. Simmons: The Collision of National Consensus and Proportionality Review|volume=96|page=947–994|journal=J. Crim. L. & Criminology|url=https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=7240&context=jclc|url-access=May 22, 2023|punct=&nbsp;(internal quotation marks omitted).}}</ref> Simmons convinced two youngerof his friends to join him: 15-year-old Charles Benjamin and 16-year-old John Tessmer.<ref name=":0">''Simmons'', at 556.</ref> On September 9, Simmons met with Benjamin and Tessmer at 2 a.m. to carry out their plan, but Tessmer decided to leave before any crimes were committed.{{refn|Simmons, Benjamin, and Tessmer met on September 9, 1993 near the [[Caravan (trailer)|trailer]] of an older neighbor, a 29-year-old man named Brian Moomey whowhom the neighborhood boys referred to as "Thunder Dad", to discuss their plan. Simmons and his friends would frequently visitvisited Moomey's trailer to drink alcohol and dotake drugs in the months preceding the murder. Moomey would later be a key witness at trial.<ref>{{Bluebook journal|last=Emens|first=Elizabeth F.|year=2005|journal=Sup. Ct. Rev.|volume=2005|title=Aggravating Youth: Roper v Simmons and Age Discrimination|page=51-102|pin=56|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/655191|url-access=May 22, 2023}}</ref>|group=fn}}<br but/>It is not officially known why Tessmer decided to leaveback beforeout anyof crimesthe wereplan.<ref>{{smallcaps|Emens}}, committedat 55.</ref>|group=fn}}<ref>''Simmons'', at 556.</ref> Simmons and Benjamin later broke into the home of Shirley Crook, a 46-year-old neighbor, where they [[Duct tape|duct-taped]] her mouth and eyes shut before [[Kidnapping|abducting]] her in her minivanvan.<ref>{{Bluebook journal|last=Emens|first=Elizabeth F.|year=2005|journal=Sup. Ct. Rev.|volume=2005|title=Aggravating Youth: Roper v Simmons and Age Discrimination|page=51-102|pin=56|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/655191|url-access=May 22, 2023}}</ref> TheySimmons drove Crook's van to [[Castlewood State Park]] and parked near a staterailroad park[[trestle bridge]], coveredwhere Simmons and Benjamin unloaded Crook's from her van.<ref>Br. for Petitioner.</ref> They covered her head with a towel, wrapped her in [[Electrical wiring|electrical wire]], and threw her off aof the trestle bridge into the [[Meramec River]] while she was still alive and conscious.<ref>''Simmons'', at 556–557; at 618 (Scalia, J., dissenting).</ref> Crook's body was discovered that afternoon by foura group of fisherman.{{Refn|Shirley Crook was reported as a missing person earlier than afternoon by her husband Steven Crook, who was away from home on an overnight trip on the night of the murder.<ref>''Simmons'', at 557.</ref>|group=fn}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Malone |first=Roy |date=September 11, 1993 |title=Teens Killed Woman, Got $6, Police Say |pages=25 |work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-post-dispatch-teens-killed-wom/125124827/ |access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref>

Under interrogation, Simmons confessed to the murder and performed a videotaped reenactment at the crime scene. At trial, Tessmer testified that Simmons planned the murder in advance, showing [[premeditation]]. The jury returned a guilty verdict. Even considering [[mitigating factor]]s (no criminal history and his age), <!-- sympathy from Simmons' family NOTE: "sympathy from Simmons' family" or "sympathy for Simmons family"?? --> the jury recommended a death sentence, which the trial court imposed.