Oklahoma City pays over $7 million to released death row inmate who spent nearly half a century in prison

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. — An Oklahoma city has agreed to pay more than $7 million to a former death row inmate who was rehabilitated after serving nearly 50 years in prison, making him the longest-sentenced inmate ever found innocent.

The Edmond City Council voted without comment Monday to settle the $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 a lot of time in prison for a crime he did not commit,” his attorney Elizabeth Wang said in a statement. “Although he will never get that time back, this agreement with Edmond will allow him to move on with his life.”

He was 22 years old at the time of his conviction, as CBS affiliate station KWTV from Oklahoma City points out.

The lawsuit makes similar claims against Oklahoma City and a retired Oklahoma City detective who also investigated the robbery and shooting that ultimately put Simmons behind bars. Those claims are not affected by the settlement and are still pending.

According to KWTV, Wang noted in her statement, “We very much look forward to holding them accountable in court in March.”

An Oklahoma City spokesman said Wednesday that the city does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit alleges that police falsified a report by claiming that a witness injured in the shooting identified Simmons and co-defendant Don Roberts as the two who robbed a store and shot a clerk.

The lawsuit also alleges that police withheld evidence that the witness 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 reopen the case because there was no longer any evidence against Simmons.

In December, a judge acquitted Simmons on the grounds that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that he did not commit the crime. The state of Oklahoma compensated Simmons for his wrongful conviction with $175,000 in restitution.

Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days, making him the longest-serving U.S. inmate to be exonerated, according to data from the National Registry of Exonerations.

Simmons, who claimed he was in Louisiana at the time of the crime, and Roberts were both sentenced to death for the murder of liquor store clerk Carolyn Sue Rogers.

Their sentences were reduced to life imprisonment in 1977 following U.S. Supreme Court rulings regarding the death penalty, and Roberts was released on parole in 2008.