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COOPER v. STATE

No. 45S00-8701-CR-61.

540 N.E.2d 1216 (1989)

Paula R. COOPER, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below).

Supreme Court of Indiana.

July 13, 1989.

Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

William L. Touchette, Lake County Appellate Public Defender, Crown Point, Victor L. Streib, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland, Ohio, for appellant.

Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Michael Gene Worden, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

John R. Van Winkle, John G. Shubat, Bingham Summers Welsh & Spilman, Indianapolis, for amicus curiae, Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force.

Richard A. Waples, Legal Director, Indiana Civil Liberties Union, Indianapolis, Lawrence A. Vanore, Barnes & Thornburg, Indianapolis, for amicus curiae, Indiana Civil Liberties Union.

Nigel Rodley, Amnesty Intern., United Kingdom, Paul L. Hoffman, Joan W. Howarth, Amnesty International-USA, Legal Support Network, Los Angeles, Cal., Michael Sutherlin, Indianapolis, Joan Fitzpatrick, Alice M. Miller, Jane G. Rocamora, David Weissbrodt, Amnesty International-USA, Legal Support Network, New York City, for amicus curiae, Amnesty Intern.

Joseph A. Morris, The Mid-America Legal Foundation, Chicago, Ill., Dennis J. Stanton, Merrillville, for amicus curiae, The Mid-America Legal Foundation, Leadership Councils of America, and the Lincoln Institute for Research and Education.

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

The question is whether Paula Cooper may be executed for committing the grisly murder of Mrs. Ruth Pelke. We hold that she may not.

There are two separate and independent grounds for this decision. First, in light of the Indiana General Assembly's policy decision that persons who commit crimes at age 15 or younger may not be executed, we conclude under article 7, section 4 of the Indiana Constitution that Cooper should not be executed...

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