Man Breaks Record After Serving 48 Years In Prison For Crime He Did Not Commit
A 71-year-old man in the US state of Oklahoma has been declared innocent after spending nearly five decades in prison for a murder he did not commit, breaking the unfortunate record of serving the longest time behind bars before being exonerated.
According to The National Registry of Exonerations, Glynn Simmons, who is Black, was declared innocent in a judgement in July after enduring a total of 48 years, one month, and 18 days of imprisonment – a time said to be more than that of any other person cleared of charges.
Back in 1975, Simmons and another man named Don Roberts were sentenced to death for the murder of a 30-year-old liquor store clerk during a robbery in Edmond, Oklahoma.
However, their sentences were later changed to life imprisonment. The convictions of Simmons and Roberts were solely based on the testimony of a teenage customer who was shot in the head during the robbery but managed to survive, Naija News learnt.
The woman selected them from a lineup presented by the police, but a subsequent inquiry raised considerable uncertainty regarding the credibility of her identifications.
During the trial, both individuals asserted that they were not present in Oklahoma at the moment of the homicide.
In July, Judge Amy Palumbo of the US District Court dismissed Simmons’ conviction and pronounced him innocent during a hearing held in Oklahoma County District Court on Tuesday.
“This is a day we’ve been waiting on for a long, long time,” Simmons reportedly told reporters.
“We can say justice was done today, finally.”
According to The National Registry of Exonerations, Roberts, the co-defendant of Simmons, was released from prison in 2008. Consequently, Simmons might now qualify for compensation.
“What’s been done can’t be undone but there could be accountability,” he said.
“That’s what I’m about right now. Accountability.”
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