Home > Great American Court Cases > Thompson v. Oklahoma

Legal Citation: 487 U.S. 815 (1988)

Appellant
William Wayne Thompson

Appellee
State of Oklahoma

Appellant's Claim
That Thompson was a child at the time of his crime and should not be subjected to the death penalty.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Harry F. Tepker Jr.

Chief Lawyer for Appellee
David W. Lee, Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, John Paul Stevens (writing for the Court)

Justices Dissenting
William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Byron R. White (Anthony M. Kennedy did not participate)

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
29 June 1988

Decision
The Oklahoma Court's death sentence against Thompson was overturned and the case was remanded.