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Oklahoma City has agreed to pay a former death row inmate who spent nearly 50 years in prison before his exoneration.
Newsweek reports that Glynn Ray Simmons spent over 48 years in prison, becoming the longest-serving inmate later declared innocent of a crime.
After facing the death penalty and spending five decades in prison, he will receive $7.15 million in compensation.
Per the Associated Press, Simmons, 71, secured the award after suing Edmond, Oklahoma. The Edmond City Council officially settled the lawsuit on August 12.
In 1975, a jury found Glynn Ray Simmons guilty of killing liquor store clerk Carolyn Rogers during a 1974 robbery. Simmons later sued, claiming police falsified reports and the prosecution hid evidence during his trial.
Fox23 News says the lawsuit accuses police of falsifying a report that wrongly identified Glynn Ray Simmons and co-defendant Don Roberts as the robbers and shooters.
The lawsuit also reveals that police withheld evidence showing the witness identified two other suspects.
Simmons claimed he was in Louisiana during the incident.
The Independent reported that Simmons received a death sentence but actually faced life in prison after the Supreme Court’s 1977 ruling on capital punishment. However, Roberts was released on parole in 2008.
Glynn Ray Simmons’ attorney, Elizabeth Wang, discussed his release and stated that no amount of money could ever make up for the injustice he endured.
“Mr. Simmons endured an unimaginable injustice, spending almost half a century in prison for a crime he did not commit. While no amount of money can ever compensate for the years he lost, this settlement will allow him to start a new chapter in his life.”
Fox23 News reported that a judge vacated Simmons’ conviction and sentence in July 2023, leading to his release from prison and the order of a new trial.
In September, District Attorney Vickie Behenna announced that she would not retry Simmons’ case due to the lack of physical evidence.
AP reports that in December 2023, Simmons received $175,000 from the state for his wrongful conviction and was exonerated.
