Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

  • Advertisements

US Supreme Court: Big 21st century rulings

- Emily Powers

2. Roper v. Simmons (2005)

It banned the execution of prisoners for crimes they committed as minors, ruling that these executions violated the Eighth Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Court’s decision was influenced by international law as well as a 1958 precedent that "evolving standards of decency" can change the application of the Eighth Amendment.


Read Comments

View reader comments | Comment on this story

  • Weekly review of global news and ideas
  • Balanced, insightful and trustworthy
  • Subscribe in print or digital

Special Offer