The city of Edmond, Oklahoma has agreed to a $7.15 million settlement with Glynn Simmons, a man who served 48 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Simmons, now 71, was convicted in 1975 of a murder that took place during a liquor store robbery in 1974. His conviction was based on the testimony of an 18-year-old girl who was shot during the robbery. Simmons was released on bond in July 2023 after a judge overturned his conviction at the request of the Oklahoma County district attorney, and his case was dismissed in December 2023.
Simmons holds the record for the longest wrongful imprisonment of any person exonerated in the US, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. The average length of unlawful imprisonment is just over nine years.
Simmons' attorney, Elizabeth Wang, stated that while Simmons will never be able to make up for the time he lost, the settlement will allow him to move forward and continue to press his lawsuits against the Oklahoma City defendants. The trial is scheduled for March.
The settlement resolves Simmons' claims against the city of Edmond and the estate of former Edmond Detective Anthony David Garret. Additional claims are pending against Oklahoma City and retired Oklahoma City Detective Claude Shobert.
Simmons was convicted of a murder that took place while he was 700 miles away in Harvey, Louisiana, celebrating the holidays with family and friends. No physical evidence ever linked him to the crime. The only evidence against him was the falsification of police lineups and reports and police manipulation of a victim who briefly witnessed the crime before being seriously injured during it.
Simmons' release came after the district attorney's office found that evidence was withheld from his defense attorneys, a so-called Brady violation. Oklahoma County District Court Judge Amy Palumbo then modified the order in December 2023, dismissing the case against him without prejudice.
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