thompson v. oklahoma
Year: 1988
Result: 5:3, favor Thompson
Related Constitutional issue/amendment: 8th amendment (cruel or unusual punishment)
Civil Rights or Civil Liberties: Liberties
Significance/Precedent: The court ruled that someone under the age of 16 cannot be punished with execution because it was cruel and unusual punishment. This ruling was due to the fact that all states with death penalty laws agree with this age limit.
Quote from majority opinion: "The most salient statistic that bears on this case is that every single American legislature that has expressly set a minimum age for capital punishment has set that age at 16 or above. When one adds these 18 States to the 14 that have rejected capital punishment completely, it appears that almost two-thirds of the state legislatures have definitely concluded that no 15-year-old should be exposed to the threat of execution. Where such a large majority of the state legislatures have unambiguously outlawed capital punishment for 15-year-olds, and where no legislature in this country has affirmatively and unequivocally endorsed such a practice, strong counterevidence would be required to persuade me that a national consensus against this practice does not exist."
6-word summary: minors under 16 cannot be executed
Result: 5:3, favor Thompson
Related Constitutional issue/amendment: 8th amendment (cruel or unusual punishment)
Civil Rights or Civil Liberties: Liberties
Significance/Precedent: The court ruled that someone under the age of 16 cannot be punished with execution because it was cruel and unusual punishment. This ruling was due to the fact that all states with death penalty laws agree with this age limit.
Quote from majority opinion: "The most salient statistic that bears on this case is that every single American legislature that has expressly set a minimum age for capital punishment has set that age at 16 or above. When one adds these 18 States to the 14 that have rejected capital punishment completely, it appears that almost two-thirds of the state legislatures have definitely concluded that no 15-year-old should be exposed to the threat of execution. Where such a large majority of the state legislatures have unambiguously outlawed capital punishment for 15-year-olds, and where no legislature in this country has affirmatively and unequivocally endorsed such a practice, strong counterevidence would be required to persuade me that a national consensus against this practice does not exist."
6-word summary: minors under 16 cannot be executed