The city of Edmond, Oklahoma, agreed to a settlement on Monday of over $7 million for Glynn Ray Simmons, a former death row inmate who was exonerated after spending nearly five decades behind bars.
Simmons was previously found guilty of murder along with another co-defendant, Don Roberts, in the 1974 death of a 30-year-old liquor store clerk named Carolyn Sue Rogers. Simmons was first sentenced to death but was later reduced to life in prison in 1977 after rulings related to capital punishment by the U.S. Supreme Court, while Roberts was released on parole in 2008.
Simmons has maintained his innocence, and he has said that he was in Louisiana at the time of the crime.
Simmons was released from prison in July 2023 after a judge overturned his conviction and ordered a retrial. In September, District Attorney Vickie Behenna declared that there was insufficient physical evidence to proceed with a new trial, leading to Simmons being formally exonerated by a judge in December. The judge said there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Simmons did not commit the crime.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the Edmond City Council on Monday voted to settle a lawsuit filed by Simmons, 71, against the city and a former police detective for $7.15 million.
Newsweek reached out to the Edmond City Council via email on Wednesday for comment.
“Mr. Simmons endured an unimaginable injustice, spending almost half a century in prison for a crime he did not commit,” Elizabeth Wang, Simmons’ attorney, said in a statement. “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.”
The lawsuit alleged that officers falsified key evidence, including a witness statement that wrongfully identified Simmons and Roberts as the perpetrators in the robbery and shooting of the liquor store clerk. Additionally, it alleges that police withheld evidence that witnesses pointed towards two other suspects.
Simmons’ lawsuit is similar to another pending lawsuit he has filed against Oklahoma City and a retired Oklahoma City detective, who also investigated the case and are not affected by the current settlement, the AP reported.
To date, Simmons has received $175,000 in compensation from the state of Oklahoma for his wrongful conviction.
Having spent 48 years, one month, and 18 days behind bars, Simmons is the longest imprisoned U.S. inmate to be exonerated, according to data from the National Registry of Exonerations.
