Question

6. The decision in Stanford v. Kentucky was overturned by the Supreme Court's ruling in Roper v. Simmons. Describe how this later ruling overturned the earlier decision. (2 points)

Answer 1

Answer:  The correct answer is :  Cristopher Simmons was sentenced to death when he was 17 in 1993. Several appeals were made until 2002 but all were rejected, in this year the Supreme Court of Missouri suspended the execution of Simmons. The United States Supreme Court ruled that executing the mentally handicapped violated the prohibitions of the eighth and fourteenth amendments. Because of this in Missouri it was decided to reconsider the Simmons case. The Missouri court invalidated the decision taken in 1989 in the Stanford v. Kentucky as it claimed that the execution of minors was not unconstitutional and it was concluded that it was cruel and unusual.