When the Supreme Court heard arguments last October in the juvenile death penalty case Roper v. Simmons, Justice Anthony Kennedy seemed to tip his hand with an unusual line of questions.
“I have one other question I’d like to ask because it’s been troubling me,” Kennedy said to former solicitor general Seth Waxman. Waxman was arguing on behalf of Missouri inmate Christopher Simmons in his challenge to the law that allows execution of those who committed their crimes at ages 16 and 17. “If we ruled in your favor and this decision was given wide publicity, wouldn’t that make 16-, 17-year-olds subject to being persuaded to be the hit men for the gangs?”
