Glynn Simmons holds a dubious and painful distinction. He served a longer amount of time in prison before being exonerated than anyone else in American history.
The state of Oklahoma kept him behind bars for 48 years, one month, and 18 days before he walked out of prison in July 2023. Six months later, Oklahoma District Judge Amy Palumbo made it official when she found that “the offense for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned … was not committed by Mr. Simmons.”
Simmons was initially sentenced to die. But a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court ruling caused his sentence to be changed to life in prison.
The latest chapter in the saga of Simmons’ false conviction and ultimate exoneration occurred last week, when the Edmond City Council agreed to pay him $7.15 million. In return, Simmons agreed to drop a lawsuit he had filed against the city and the estate of former Edmond detective Anthony David Garrett, who led the investigation that sent him to prison.
The city settled without admitting liability.
Last year, Simmons received $175,000 from Oklahoma after he sued the state as well. That is the maximum amount allowed under Oklahoma law. That law does not allow payment of punitive damages, no matter how egregious the conduct was that sent an innocent person to jail.
At the time, Simmons called the amount he received from the state “bullshit.” He pointed out, “They paid private prisons more to keep me in the cell than they agreed to give me on this $175,000.”
Advertisement“It’s a mockery,” Simmons explained. “I’m not ungrateful for it, and I sure need it. But when you do the math—and mathematics is the only language that’s pure—you can change everything up, but if one and one ain’t two, it ain’t right.”
As the journalist Michael McNutt reported:
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