Oklahoma Man Who Spent Nearly 50 Years In Prison for Murder Is Exonerated

An Oklahoma man was exonerated this month after spending nearly 50 years in prison for murder.

On Thursday, December 21, a judge in Oklahoma announced that 71-year-old Glynn Simmons was innocent of the crimes he was previously convicted of. Data from the National Registry of Exonerations shows that Simmons was the longest-serving inmate to be declared innocent, after spending 48 years, one month and 18 days behind bars. Simmons was previously found guilty of murder along with another co-defendant, in the death of Carolyn Sue Rogers in 1974.

"This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offense for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned... was not committed by Mr. Simmons," Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo said in a ruling, according to the Associated Press.

The ruling last week comes a few months after Simmons was released from prison in July. Prosecutors in the case previously said that some evidence was not turned over to Simmons' defense team earlier on in the case, resulting in his release, the Associated Press reported.

In 1975, Simmons and Don Roberts were found guilty in the murder of Rogers and they both initially received death sentences. According to the Washington Post, Rogers was killed in December 1974 while she was working at a liquor store in Oklahoma. She was shot in the head, resulting in her death, the Washington Post reported.

Simmons maintained his innocence throughout the case and his sentence was eventually lowered to life in prison in 1977.

"A judge in Oklahoma has now declared him innocent "by clear and convincing evidence" of a 1974 murder after he spent 48 years in prison for the killing. Earlier this year, his conviction was vacated and case dismissed, but he was not formally declared "innocent" under Oklahoma law," Simmons' legal team, Norwood Law, wrote in a statement on social media. "He was, however, entered into the National Registry of Exonerations at that time. Learn more about our work on the Simmons case at Norwood.Law."

Newsweek reached out to Norwood Law via email for comment.

According to the Associated Press, Simmons will be eligible to receive up to $175,000 from Oklahoma because of his wrongful conviction, but his legal team noted that receiving this money could take a long time and Simmons will be using a GoFundMe to receive donations.

"Glynn is having to live off of GoFundMe that's literally how the man is surviving right now, paying rent, buying food," Joe Norwood told the Associated Press, noting that Simmons was recently found to have cancer. "Getting him compensation, and getting compensation is not for sure, is in the future and he has to sustain himself now."

In a press conference following the exoneration, Simmons said, "Don't let nobody tell you that it (exoneration) can't happen, because it really can," the Associated Press reported.