A judge dismissed the case of a 70-year-old man who wrongfully spent decades behind bars in Oklahoma for a crime he says he didn’t commit.
Glynn Simmons was convicted for the killing of a woman identified as Carolyn Sue Rogers that occurred during an Edmond, Oklahoma, liquor store robbery in 1974, according to ABC News. He was only 22 years old when he was blamed for her murder, and a judge sentenced him to the death penalty a year later when he was convicted in 1975. Another woman was also injured during the liquor store shooting.
“Prosecutors said the surviving victim identified Mr. Simmons out of a lineup but never told the jury or defense team that she had also identified other people in the lineup,” the Death Penalty Information Center said in a statement. “In 1977, his sentence was reduced to life in prison as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision.”
Simmons was released earlier this summer on bond after an Oklahoma County district court judge vacated his conviction amid awaiting a new trial, as KFOR reported. The decision came after a request from District Court Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna.
In a Sept. 11 press release, Behenna listed multiple factors for her effort, including lack of physical evidence, the detectives and the surviving victim in the case not being readily available, and the defense argument that another suspect was pointed out in one of the lineups. This week, his case was completely dismissed.
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“There never really was any real evidence,” his attorney, John Coyle, said to The Oklahoman. “Just being a Black kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oklahoma’s changed a lot since (the 1970s), but in many ways it’s the same.”
Collectively, Simmons spent 48 years, five months, and 13 days in prison, according to several reports, and maintained his innocence throughout that time. Before his release, advocates shared petitions calling for his freedom.
Simmons created a GoFundMe seeking donations for living, food, transportation, and medical expenses. The fundraiser has hit more than $17,000 so far. He also said that he is receiving chemotherapy for liver cancer. Despite this, he wants to help other people facing similar circumstances.
“I plan to use my remaining time to help others who are still stuck where I was,” the caption said. “We need to fix this system so that what happened to me will never happen to anyone else, ever again!”
