In the 2005 decision in Roper v. Simmons, the case in which the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for juveniles, the leading brief in the case, filed by the American Medical Association and other groups, argued that adolescent brains are not fully developed in the fusiform area; therefore, adolescents cannot control their impulses as adults do and should not be held fully culpable for the immaturity of their neural anatomy.

Question

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The leading brief in Roper v. Simmons focused on the general immaturity, vulnerability, and changeability of adolescents, rather than specifically arguing about the development of the fusiform area of the brain. The argument was based on the broader principle that juveniles are less culpable due to their developmental stage, not on the specific development of a particular brain region.

In the 2005 Decision in Roper V