There’s not enough money in the world that can make amends for the five decades Glynn Ray Simmons spent in prison wrongfully convicted of murder, but Oklahoma City is trying to make it right by awarding him over $7 million.
In 1975, Simmons was sent to death row for killing an Oklahoma City liquor store clerk named Carolyn Sue Rogers. According to AP News, Simmons insisted he was in a completely different state when the murder occurred. Despite Simmons having an alibi, falsified witness testimonies sent him to prison at the age of 22.
Two years after his initial conviction, Simmons’ death sentence was reduced to life in prison, and it wasn’t until 2023 that he would see the outside world again.
In July 2023, 71-year-old Simmons walked free after a judge vacated his sentence and ordered a new trial, per Newsweek. “This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offense for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned... was not committed by Mr. Simmons,” according to the ruling by Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo.
District Attorney Vickie Behenna declined to retry the case, citing a lack of physical evidence against Simmons. With that, Simmons was finally proven innocent, according to CBS News.
“It’s a lesson in resilience and tenacity,” Simmons said during a press conference after the ruling. “Don’t let nobody tell you that it (exoneration) can’t happen, because it really can.”
To compensate for taking most of his life, the state of Oklahoma originally awarded Simmons only $175,000. In total, he spent 48 years, one month and 18 days behind bars, making him the longest imprisoned U.S. inmate to ever be exonerated, according to The National Registry of Exonerations.
On Aug. 12, the Edmond City Council voted unanimously to settle a civil lawsuit filed by Simmons against the city and a former police detective. As part of the settlement, Simmons is set to receive $7.15 million, according to News 9.
Attorney Elizabeth Wang said in a statement about her client, “Although he will never get that time back, this settlement with Edmond will allow him to move forward.”