A 71-year-old man was found innocent in the state of Oklahoma, United States, after spending nearly 50 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Glynn Simmons, an African American, is the person who has spent the longest time in prison before being exonerated in United States history, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Simmons was released in July after serving a total of 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison. Simmons and another man, Don Roberts, were sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder of a liquor store clerk during a robbery in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Their sentences were later commuted to life sentences. Simmons and Roberts were convicted separately based on the testimony of a young store customer who was shot in the head and survived.
She pointed out the men in a lineup of suspects set up by police, but a subsequent investigation cast significant doubt on the reliability of the woman’s recognition. Both men said in court that they were not even in Oklahoma at the time of the murder.
Federal Judge Amy Palumbo overturned Simmons’ conviction in July and found him not guilty Tuesday at a hearing in Oklahoma state district court.
“This is a day I’ve waited a long, long time for,” Simmons told reporters. “We can say that justice was finally done today.”
Roberts, a co-defendant with Simmons, was released from prison in 2008, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Simmons will now be able to demand compensation. “What has been done cannot be undone, but there could be liabilities,” he said. “That’s what I’m on now. Responsibilities.”
