Christopher Simmons
Respondent
On the early morning of September 9, 1993, Christopher Simmons and a friend broke into the house of Shirley Cook, burglarized it, and took a gagged and bound Cook in the back of their van to a bridge, where they threw her into the Meramec River, where she drowned. The next day, police detained Simmons and, following two hours of questioning, the 17-year-old high school junior confessed to the murder. He was tried and convicted of first-degree murder, and because of aggravating circumstances, sentenced to death. On May 3, 2002, as his execution date approached, lawyers for Simmons petitioned the…
