According to the Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons, at what age does one become culpable for capital crimes?
18 years old or older. 2. What reasons did the majority of the Court give for their ruling? • The “cruel and unusual” clause in the 8 th Amendment to the Constitutionapplies to the execution of minors. • Minors cannot fully understand the implications of their actions. • The number of states that allow capital punishment but have outlawed the execution of minors (47%) constitutes a national consensus. • Many other countries and human rights’ groups have condemned the practice. 3. Two dissenting opinions were written in this case. What reasons did Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas give for dissenting from the majority opinion? • The number of states (18) that have outlawed the death penalty for minors does not reach the level of a national consensus on the issue. • The states which permit the execution of minors realize that the national view of the death penalty evolves. They believe that the individual states can determine for themselves—according to their state constitutions—the
