When he went to prison he was 22 years old, now he is 70. Glynn Simmons He spent 48 years in prison as an innocent man. It is the longest unjustified imprisonment in the United States: Arrested in 1975 for a murder he did not commit, he was acquitted of all charges by an Oklahoma judge. In Italy there is the similar case of Beniamino Zuncheddu, who was released last month after 32 years in prison.
Simmons, who has been at large since last July, was reinstated by Judge Amy Palumbo. The judge wrote this in the December 2023 release form, which affirmed his innocence There is no “clear and convincing evidence that the crime for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned was committed by Mr. Simmons.”
In the United States, no one has ever been released from prison after spending 48 years, one month, and ten days in prison. Glynn Simmons explained: “It's a lesson in resilience and tenacity. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t happen, because it can.”
Simmons was convicted of voluntary manslaughter along with another person, Don Roberts. Both were blamed for the death of a clerk during a robbery at an Edmond liquor store. They weren't the main suspects. It had happened to two brothers before them. What got them into trouble was the testimony of a woman who had been injured in the robbery and said she recognized her.
Although his versions were contradictory, no further investigation was carried out. Only now it turned out that the prosecution had not handed over all the evidence to the defense attorneys at that time, including the fact that this was the case A witness identified additional suspects.
Simmons and Roberts were sentenced to death, but avoided execution by appealing a Supreme Court decision that declared the death penalty unconstitutional. Roberts has been on probation since 2008. Simmons alone now and after the cancer diagnosis: He will receive $175,000 in compensation, effectively $10 for every day he spent unjustly in prison.