August 17th 2024.
Back in February, Glynn Ray Simmons opened up to The Guardian about his long and grueling battle to clear his name after being wrongfully accused of a crime. He referred to it as an attempted murder, and rightly so. Despite his innocence, he was sentenced to life in prison, making it the longest miscarriage of justice in American history.
But Simmons wasn't just fighting for himself. He wanted to use any compensation he received to help others who found themselves in a similar situation. Finally, after nearly 50 years of fighting for justice, he can do just that.
According to The Associated Press, the Edmond City Council voted to award Simmons over $7 million earlier this week. This comes after the National Registry of Exonerations confirmed that Simmons was in Louisiana at the time of the murder for which he was convicted. He had never even been to Oklahoma until a year after the crime took place.
In fact, Simmons' lawyers, Joseph Norwood and John Coyle, had filed a motion for amended post-conviction relief in January 2023. They argued that Belinda Brown, a survivor of the shooting, had falsely identified Simmons as the perpetrator. They also presented a report from Dr. Curt Carlson, an eyewitness identification expert, who believed that there was no evidence linking Simmons to the crime.
His attorney, Elizabeth Wang, expressed her relief and frustration at the same time. She said, "Mr. Simmons spent a tragic amount of time incarcerated for a crime he did not commit." This settlement with Edmond will never make up for the lost time, but it will allow him to finally move forward with his life.
The lawsuit also accused the police of falsifying reports and withholding evidence that could have pointed to other suspects. It wasn't until July 2023 that Simmons was finally released when a judge vacated his conviction and ordered a new trial. And after District Attorney Vickie Behenna announced that she would not seek to retry Simmons, he was exonerated in December 2023.
It's a bittersweet victory for Simmons, who was originally sentenced to death before it was commuted to life in prison in 1977. And prior to the city council's decision, he had only received $177,000 from the state for his wrongful incarceration. Sadly, Simmons is not the only one who has suffered such injustice. Betty Tyson, who was also exonerated after 25 years in prison, recently passed away at the age of 75.
But Simmons' story serves as a reminder that the fight for justice is never over. And while he can finally move on with his life, he will never forget the tragedy of the time he lost behind bars for a crime he did not commit.
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