EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma metropolis has agreed to pay greater than $7 million to a former demise row inmate who was exonerated after nearly 50 years in jail, making him the longest-serving inmate to be declared harmless of a criminal offense.
The Edmond Metropolis Council voted with out touch upon Monday to settle the lawsuit filed by Glynn Ray Simmons, 71, towards the Oklahoma Metropolis suburb and a former police detective for $7.15 million.
“Mr. Simmons spent a tragic period of time incarcerated for a criminal offense he didn’t commit,” his legal professional, Elizabeth Wang stated in a press release. “Though he won’t ever get that point again, this settlement with Edmond will enable him to maneuver ahead” along with his life.
The lawsuit makes comparable claims towards Oklahoma Metropolis and a retired Oklahoma Metropolis detective, who additionally investigated the theft and taking pictures, which aren’t affected by the settlement and stay pending.
A spokesperson for Oklahoma Metropolis stated Wednesday that the town doesn’t touch upon pending litigation.
The lawsuit alleges police falsified a report by stating {that a} witness who was wounded within the taking pictures recognized Simmons and co-defendant Don Roberts as the 2 who robbed the shop and shot the clerk.
The lawsuit additionally alleges police withheld proof that the witness recognized two different folks as suspects.
Simmons was released from prison in July 2023 after a choose vacated his conviction and sentence and ordered a brand new trial.
District Lawyer Vickie Behenna introduced in September that she would not retry the case as a result of there isn’t any longer bodily proof towards Simmons.
In December, a choose exonerated Simmons, saying there was “clear and convincing proof” that he didn’t commit the crime and Simmons has acquired $175,000 from the state of Oklahoma for wrongful conviction.
Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days, making him the longest imprisoned U.S. inmate to be exonerated, according to data stored by The Nationwide Registry of Exonerations.
Simmons, who has maintained that he was in Louisiana on the time of the crime, and Roberts had been each convicted of the homicide of the liquor retailer clerk, Carolyn Sue Rogers, and sentenced to demise.
Their sentences had been diminished to life in jail in 1977 after U.S. Supreme Court docket rulings associated to capital punishment and Roberts was launched on parole in 2008.
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