By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – Missouri anti-death penalty activists are lauding Tuesday's U-S Supreme Court decision barring states from executing people who were juveniles at the time of their crimes.
The 5-4 decision upholds the Missouri Supreme Court's 2003 ruling that putting inmate Christopher Simmons to death would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Simmons was 17 when he murdered Shirley Crook in 1993.
The court agreed with data indicating the juvenile brain less developed than an adult's, and that the same standards of culpability cannot be applied.
Rita Linhardt with the Ban Youth Executions coalition calls the ruling a moral shot in the arm.
"I'm sure there are going to be people who will disagree with it, but I think the vast majority of people are going to say yeah; this is the right thing to do," Linhardt said.
Some victims' advocates in Missouri disagree.
Missouri Victim Assistance Network president Angela Hirsch says she's surprised at the decision.
"We believe that any person who commits an adult crime needs to face the adult actions of that," Hirsch said. "This young man knew what he was doing. Regardless of his chronological age, he knew the end result of his actions would lead to another person's death."
Hirsch says her group is concerned the ruling could have an adverse effect on victims, and that it remains to be seen how it may be applied in Missouri.
To hear a report from NPR's Nina Totenberg, as aired on Tuesday's All Things Considered, click here.
KWMU's Tom Weber reported on the Simmons case when the matter was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court last year. His story was featured on NPR's Justice Talking. To hear that story, as it aired in October, click here.