‘TRAGIC’

Oklahoma City to Pay More Than $7M to Exonerated Death Row Inmate

Glynn Simmons spent nearly half a century behind bars after being wrongly convicted of fatally shooting a liquor store clerk during a robbery.

A man who spent nearly half a century in prison for a crime he didn’t commit will be paid $7.15 million by the city of Edmond, Oklahoma in a partial settlement, his lawyer said Wednesday. Glynn Simmons was 22-years-old when he and another man were convicted of fatally shooting clerk Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery in 1974. He is now 71, having served 48 years, one month, and 18 days behind bars, according to a news release. Simmons was released on bond in July 2023 after a judge vacated his sentence, with the case against him dismissed later that year. A civil rights lawsuit he filed alleged that police falsified reports and withheld evidence to secure his conviction. This week’s settlement resolves Simmons’ claims against the City of Edmond and the estate of one of the police officers involved in his case. Additional claims against Oklahoma City and a retired police detective remained pending Wednesday. “Mr. Simmons spent a tragic amount of time incarcerated for a crime he did not commit,” attorney Elizabeth Wang said in the release. “Although he will never get that time back, this settlement with Edmond will allow him to move forward while also continuing to press his claims against the Oklahoma City defendants.”