The city of Edmond, Oklahoma, has reached a $7.15 million settlement with Glynn Simmons, a man who spent 48 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Simmons, now 71 years old, was released in July 2023 after his murder conviction in a 1974 shooting was vacated by a judge at the request of the Oklahoma County district attorney. His case was ultimately dismissed in December 2023.
Simmons holds the record for the longest wrongful incarceration in the United States, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. The average wrongful incarceration duration is just over nine years, as reported by the registry.
Simmons was convicted at the age of 22 for the murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery, based on the testimony of a young woman who was injured during the incident.
Attorney Elizabeth Wang, representing Simmons, expressed that while Simmons cannot reclaim the lost time, the settlement with Edmond will aid him in moving forward and pursuing further claims against the Oklahoma City defendants.
The settlement resolves Simmons' claims against the City of Edmond and the estate of former detective Anthony David Garret. However, additional claims against Oklahoma City and retired detective Claude Shobert are still pending.
Simmons was celebrating the holidays with family and friends in Louisiana at the time of the murder, which occurred in Oklahoma. No physical evidence linked him to the crime, and his conviction was based on falsified police line-ups and reports.
His release came after the district attorney's office discovered evidence that had been withheld from his defense attorneys, constituting a Brady violation. The case against Simmons was dismissed with prejudice by Oklahoma County District Court Judge Amy Palumbo in December 2023.
