In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to the death penalty.

• A. It applied only to crimes committed after 2000
• B. True
• C. False
• D. It applied to all age groups

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the death penalty cannot be imposed on someone who was a juvenile at the time of the crime. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in Roper v. Simmons that executing individuals who were under 18 when they committed their offense violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The decision rests on developmental considerations: juveniles typically have less mature judgment, a greater potential for rehabilitation, and are more susceptible to peer influence and external pressures, which lowers their culpability compared with adults. Because of these factors, the death penalty is not a permissible punishment for crimes committed by juveniles. This makes the statement true. It doesn’t apply to people who were 18 or older at the time of the crime, and it’s not about crimes occurring after a certain year—the ruling targets age at the time of the offense, not when or where the crime happened.