City in Oklahoma agrees to pay over $7 million to exonerated former death row inmate
EDMOND, Oklahoma — An Oklahoma city has agreed to pay more than $7 million to a former death row inmate who… acquitted after almost 50 years in prison, making him the longest-serving prisoner ever to be found not guilty of a crime.
The Edmond City Council voted without comment Monday to settle a $7.15 million lawsuit filed by Glynn Ray Simmons, 71, against the Oklahoma City suburb and a former police detective.
“Mr. Simmons has tragically spent time in prison for a crime he did not commit,” his attorney, Elizabeth Wang, said in a statement. “While he will never get that time back, this settlement with Edmond will allow him to move forward” with his life.
The lawsuit makes similar claims against Oklahoma City and a retired Oklahoma City detective who also investigated the robbery and shooting. Those claims are not part of the settlement and are still pending.
An Oklahoma City spokesman said Wednesday that the city does not comment on pending litigation.
The complaint alleges that police falsified a report by stating that a witness who was injured in the shooting identified Simmons and co-defendant Don Roberts as the two who robbed the store and shot the clerk.
The complaint also alleges that police withheld evidence showing that the witness had identified two other people as suspects.
Simmons was released from prison in July 2023, after a judge overturned his conviction and sentence and ordered a new trial.
District Attorney Vickie Behenna announced in September that she would not try the case again because there is no more physical evidence against Simmons.
In December, a judge acquitted Simmons, saying there was “clear and convincing evidence” that he did not commit the crime, and Simmons received $175,000 from the state of Oklahoma for wrongful conviction.
Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days, making him the longest-serving exonerated prisoner in the United States. according to data maintained by the National Registry of Exonerations.
Simmons, who maintained he was in Louisiana at the time of the crime, and Roberts were both convicted of the murder of liquor store clerk Carolyn Sue Rogers and sentenced to death.
Their sentences were reduced to life in 1977 following U.S. Supreme Court rulings on the death penalty. Roberts was released on parole in 2008.