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No. 03-633
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In The
Supreme Court of the United States
---------------------------------
♦
---------------------------------DONALD P. ROPER, SUPERINTENDENT,POTOSI CORRECTIONAL CENTER,
Petitioner
v.CHRISTOPHER SIMMONS---------------------------------
♦
---------------------------------
On Writ Of Certiorari To TheSupreme Court Of Missouri
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♦
---------------------------------
BRIEF FOR THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, AND THE MISSOURIPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION AS
AMICI CURIAE
SUPPORTING RESPONDENT
---------------------------------
♦
---------------------------------N
ATHALIE
F.P. G
ILFOYLE
General CounselL
INDSAY
C
HILDRESS
-B
EATTY
A
MERICAN
P
SYCHOLOGICAL
A
SSOCIATION
750 First Street, NEWashington, DC 20002D
REW
S. D
AYS
, III
Counsel of Record
B
ETH
S. B
RINKMANN
S
HERRI
N. B
LOUNT
T
IMOTHY
C. L
AMBERT
M
ORRISON
& F
OERSTER
LLP
2000 Pennsylvania Ave., NWWashington, DC 20006(202) 887-1500
Counsel for Amici Curiae
J
ULY
19, 2004================================================================
COCKLE LAW BRIEF PRINTING CO. (800) 225-6964OR CALL COLLECT (402) 342-2831
iTABLE OF CONTENTSPageTABLE OF AUTHORITIES........................................... iiiINTEREST OF
AMICI CURIAE
................................... 1SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT........................................ 2 ARGUMENT................................................................... 4B
EHAVIORAL
S
TUDIES
A
ND
R
ECENT
N
EURO
-
PSYCHOLOGICAL
R
ESEARCH
D
EMONSTRATE
T
HAT
E
XECUTION
O
F
T
HOSE
U
NDER
18 Y
EARS
O
LD
W
HEN
T
HEIR
O
FFENSES
W
ERE
C
OMMITTED
W
OULD
N
OT
F
URTHER
T
HE
C
ONSTITUTIONAL
P
URPOSES
O
F
T
HE
D
EATH
P
ENALTY
A
ND
W
OULD
N
OT
M
EET
E
IGHTH
A
MENDMENT
S
TANDARDS
............................................. 4 A. Adolescents, As A Group, Think And BehaveDifferently From Adults In Ways ThatUndermine The Court’s ConstitutionalRationale For Capital Punishment In Cases Of Adolescent Offenders.......................................... 41.
Adolescence is a period in which characteris forming and often involves heightenedrisk-taking and even criminal conductwhich are moderated or eliminated by theindividual in adulthood............................... 52.
Adolescent decision-makers on averageare less future-oriented and less likely toconsider properly the consequences of their actions................................................. 73. Neuropsychological research demonstratesthat the adolescent brain has not reachedadult maturity............................................. 9
iiTABLE OF CONTENTS – ContinuedPage4. Given that 16- and 17-year-olds as a groupare less mature developmentally thanadults, imposing capital punishment onsuch adolescents does not serve the judicially recognized purposes of thesanction........................................................ 13B.
Individualized Capital Sentencing ProceedingsDo Not Account For The Mitigating Effect Of Adolescence In A Sufficiently Reliable MannerTo Meet The Court’s Eighth AmendmentStandards............................................................ 151. The unsettled nature of adolescentpersonality confounds attempts to makesufficiently reliable determinations aboutthe character and future behavior of adolescent defendants to supportexecution...................................................... 162. The lapse of time between a crime andsentencing tends to complicate assessmentof the adolescent capital defendant............ 243. Unconscious racism may falsely attributegreater culpability to African Americanadolescent offenders.................................... 26C.
Individualized Capital Sentencing CannotCorrect For The Heightened Risk Of ErrorProduced By Immature Adolescent Decision-making At Earlier Stages Of The CriminalProcess................................................................ 27CONCLUSION............................................................... 30
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