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Thompson v. Oklahoma

By: Karina A. Silva, Martin Meza, Gabriela Castillo, Rayline Hernandez, Esperanza Ramirez, and Sebastian R. Garza

Decision

Impact on Society

Citation:

Citation

Thompson v. Oklahoma

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeal

487 U.S. 815 (1988)

Facts of the Case

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4006231/user-clip-thompson-v-oklahoma

Facts of the Case

Facts about The Case

  • Petitioner: William W. Thompson
  • Respondent:Oklahoma
  • Argued: Nov 9, 1987
  • Decided: June 29, 1988
  • Justices for the court: John Stevens, Sandra O'Connor, William Brennan, and Harry Blackmun

At the age of 15 years Thompson, actively participated in a brutal murder. Because petitioner was a “child” as a matter of Oklahoma law, the District Attorney filed a petition seeking to have him tried as an adult, which the trial court granted. He was then convicted and sentenced to death.

Facts of the Case

Constitutional Issue

Would the execution of someone who was 15 at the time the crime was committed be a violation against their 8th amendment right?

Constitutional Issues

8th Amendment

"excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines be imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments"

Child Laws before Thompson v. Oklahoma

Timeline

The only death penalty opposition before the Thompson v. Oklahoma case was by the ABA (American Bar Association) and it opposed the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of 18.

Reason

Any person under the age of 16 compared to an adult has a decreased culpability for crimes. The reason for this is because the juvenile may have less education and inexperience that causes a lack of ability to think of the consequences. Consequently, they decided that it was in violation of the eighth amendment to sentencing anyone under the age of 16 to death.

Reason

Impact on Society

Because of Thompson v. Oklahoma it was said that no person under the age of 16 can be sentenced to death because it violates the constitutions 8th Amendment for cruel and unusual punishment.

Dissent: Scalia

Decision

There is no national consensus regarding a minimum age for the death penalty if we allow for an inquiry into the individual circumstances of each case. Because there are some 15-year-old who do have the requisite maturity to understand the consequences of his or her actions, the Court’s constitutional rule announced here should not stand.

5-3 Decision for Thompson

Plurality Opinion by Stevens

Concurrence by O'Connor

Justice O'Connor

Dissent by Scalia.

While a national consensus likely does exist against putting someone to death who committed his crime when he was under 16 years of age, it should not be a rule of constitutional law without more evidence to support it.

Overall Opinion

Overall Opinion

We all agreed on the results of the case. This case gave a greater insight regarding the 8th amendment in cases involving minors. The decision that a minor should not be put on death-row as it institutes "cruel and unusual punishment".

References

FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2019,from

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/487/815.html.

Thompson v. Oklahoma. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2019, from

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/487/815

Thompson v. Oklahoma. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved November 3, 2019, from

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1987/86-6169

Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815 (1988). (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/487/815/#tab-opinion-1957647.

"Thompson v. Oklahoma." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/1987/86-6169. Accessed 20 Nov. 2019.

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