Man Wrongfully Convicted, Regains Freedom After 48 Years In USA | READ MORE
Faith Ukanwa
Dec 21, 2023
Man Wrongfully Convicted, Regains Freedom After 48 Years In USA | READ MORE
An Oklahoma judge has acquitted a man who spent nearly fifty years in prison for a 1974 mu-rder, marking the longest wrongful sentence served in the US.
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Glynn Simmons, aged 70, regained his freedom in July after a judge sanctioned a new trial.
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However, a county district attorney stated on Monday that insufficient evidence existed to justify a retrial.
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In a recent ruling, Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo officially declared Mr. Simmons as innocent.
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"This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned... was not committed by Mr Simmons,ÔÇØ she said in a ruling.
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"It's a lesson in resilience and tenacity,ÔÇØ Mr Simmons told reporters after the decision, according to the Associated Press. "Don't let nobody tell you that it can't happen, because it really can.ÔÇØ
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After serving 48 years, one month, and 18 days in prison for the murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery in an Oklahoma City suburb, Mr. Simmons emerges as the longest-serving inmate cleared, as per the National Registry of Exoneration.
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At 22 years old, Mr. Simmons, along with co-defendant Don Roberts, was convicted and initially sentenced to death in 1975, later commuted to life imprisonment due to US Supreme Court rulings against the death penalty.
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Maintaining his innocence, Mr. Simmons asserted he was in his home state of Louisiana during the time of the murder.
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In July, a district court annulled his sentence, citing prosecutors' failure to disclose all evidence to the defense, notably a witness identifying other suspects.
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Testimony from a teenager, who had sustained a gunshot wound to the back of the head, contributed to the convictions of Mr. Simmons and Mr. Roberts. This witness, during police line-ups, had pointed to several other men.
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— Faith Ukanwa