The following cases present situations in

which the death penalty is called into question.

Case 1

Daryl Atkins and an accomplice abducted

Eric Nesbitt, robbed him, and drove him to an

ATM, where security cameras recorded them

forcing him to withdraw more cash. They then

took Nesbitt to an isolated location and shot

him eight times. Atkins had a history of felony

convictions. Both he and his accomplice were

convicted of the killing in a Virginia state

court.

During the penalty phase of the trial,

Atkins's lawyer presented evidence from a

psychologist showing that Atkins was mildly

mentally disabled. The jury imposed the

death penalty and the Virginia Supreme

Court upheld the sentence. The case was

then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. At

issue was whether it is a violation of the

Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual pun-

ishment clause to impose the death penalty

on a mentally disabled person.

Case 2

In September 1993, Christopher Simmons

broke into the suburban St. Louis, Missouri,

home of Shirley Crook with the intention to

rob and possibly kill her. Simmons and a

friend bound the victim's hands and feet with

duct tape and drove her to a nearby state

park. At the park, Simmons pushed Crook

off a bridge and into the Meramec River,

where she drowned. Simmons was 17 years

old at the time of the murder. Before the

crime, he had told several friends about his

plan to burglarize a home and kill the occu-

pants, noting that they could do it and "get

away with it"or not be charged with and

punished for itbecause they were juveniles.

Simmons and his friend were arrested the

following day, and Simmons confessed on

videotape at the police station. He was found

guilty, and his initial appeal to the Missouri

Supreme Court resulted in his conviction

being affirmed. Several years later, the state

supreme court reconsidered the case, conclud-

ing that a national consensus opposed execu-

tion of juvenile offenders. As a result, the state

supreme court reversed Simmons' sentence of

death. The state then appealed the case to the

U.S. Supreme Court.

How should each of these cases be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court?

Case 1:

Case 2: