More than 70 people who committed crimes as 16- and 17-year-olds are on death row – and that’s where they should stay. Courts often try juveniles of this age as adults, so they should be punished as adults.

In 1993, Christopher Simmons was one of two teens who broke into a woman’s home, stretched duct tape over her mouth and eyes and forced her into a van, after which they drove her to a bridge and threw her over the rail. Simmons laughed as her body sank, witnesses said.

A Missouri court sentenced him to death, but last year, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned that ruling and sentenced him to life in prison.

Why? Because he was 17 at the time of the crime, something Simmons knew was to his advantage. Before he committed the crime, he bragged to his friends that his juvenile status would protect him, witnesses said.

The case is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court now. Justices battled Wednesday over whether it is constitutional to utilize the death penalty for 16- and 17-year-olds. Nineteen states allow capital punishment for juveniles.

The Supreme Court already has barred the execution of the mentally retarded and juveniles under 15. Now the court is divided over where the limit should be on age. Some say 18 years old is where the clear line of “adult” is drawn.

The death penalty is used on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the crime, and it should be that way regardless of age. State courts should be allowed to use their best judgment in each case.

Those who oppose execution of juveniles say they are underdeveloped at that age and their judgment should not be trusted. This should be taken into consideration when examining each case. If the jury finds a juvenile to not have been capable of making proper judgment, then they should not be given the death penalty.

But when a clear case such as the Simmons case comes to trial, and there is no question that he knew right from wrong, his “juvenile” status at the time of his crime should make no difference.

Simmons was a juvenile who clearly made an adult decision on that day in 1993. The Supreme Court should let the original ruling stand, and Simmons should be punished the way any adult would be punished.