Glynn Simmons, a 70-year-old man from Oklahoma, has been officially declared innocent by Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo after spending nearly five decades in prison for a 1974 murder, marking the longest wrongful sentence served in the United States.
Mr. Simmons was released in July following a judge’s order for a new trial. However, the county district attorney recently stated that there wasn’t enough evidence to justify a retrial. In a definitive ruling on Tuesday, Judge Palumbo stated, “This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr. Simmons was convicted…was not committed by Mr. Simmons.”
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Reflecting on his journey, Mr. Simmons, in response to reporters, emphasized the importance of resilience and tenacity.
“Don’t let nobody tell you that it can’t happen, because it really can,” he said.
Convicted at the age of 22, along with co-defendant Don Roberts, Mr. Simmons faced the death penalty in 1975 for the murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery in an Oklahoma City suburb.
Their sentences were later commuted to life in prison following US Supreme Court decisions on the death penalty.
Maintaining his innocence, Mr. Simmons claimed to have been in his home state of Louisiana at the time of the murder.
In July, a district court vacated his sentence, revealing that prosecutors had failed to disclose crucial evidence to the defense, including the identification of other suspects by a witness.
The convictions of Simmons and Roberts were based in part on the testimony of a teenager who had been shot in the back of the head.
The teen, during police line-ups, pointed to several other men. Roberts was released on parole in 2008.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Glynn Simmons holds the record as the longest-serving inmate to be cleared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpc3Shsf-7Y
In addition to the physical and emotional toll of his wrongful incarceration, Mr. Simmons is currently battling liver cancer.
A GoFundMe campaign has raised thousands of dollars to support his living costs and chemotherapy expenses.
As a result of the exoneration, Mr. Simmons is now eligible for compensation of up to $175,000 (£138,000) for the years of wrongful imprisonment endured.
