City in Oklahoma Agrees to Pay $7.15 Million to Glynn Simmons, Exonerated After 48 Years in Prison

On August 14, the Associated Press reported that the city of Edmond, Oklahoma agreed to pay $7.15 million to Glynn Simmons, the longest-incarcerated innocent person in the United States. Mr. Simmons spent 48 years in prison, including two years on death row, before he was released last July. Mr. Simmons was officially exonerated by a judge in December 2023 and received $175,000 from the state of Oklahoma, the maximum amount allowed for wrongful convictions under state law. Officials have known since before Mr. Simmons’ 1975 trial that numerous witnesses saw him playing pool in Louisiana at the time he was accused of robbing and murdering a store clerk in Edmond. Mr. Simmons, now age 71, is fighting stage 4 liver cancer. His lawsuit claims against Oklahoma City and a retired city detective are still pending.

Mr. Simmons was featured in DPI’s recent analysis showing that the length of time before exoneration is increasing for death-sentenced prisoners due to factors such as official misconduct and strict procedural rules for appeals. For decades, Oklahoma prosecutors withheld records showing that the surviving witness, who had been shot in the head, identified at least four other men in lineups, not Mr. Simmons or his co-defendant Don Roberts. Mr. Roberts, who was also convicted and sentenced to death despite evidence showing he was in another state, was released on parole in 2008. Although District Attorney Vickie Behenna dismissed the charges against Mr. Simmons, she has denied Mr. Roberts’ requests for formal exoneration—blocking him from receiving payment from the state’s wrongful conviction statute. Many state wrongful conviction statutes have strict procedural requirements that prevent innocent people from accessing funds after release. 

“Sometimes I build myself up to feeling free. Then I stumble out here to reality, to remember that, you’re not free. You can’t go out and get a job. I need a job now. But my convictions hold me back.” – Don Roberts

Studies consistently show that the death penalty is much more expensive than incarceration for natural life in prison, and wrongful conviction compensation is one of the death penalty’s many “hidden costs.” The federal government and states decide whether and how much they will pay prisoners for wrongful incarceration. Typically, the amounts increase depending on the type of penalty, the scope of official misconduct, and the length of time incarcerated, although there are often caps on the maximum amount of compensation. Our data show that 71% of death row exonerations involve official misconduct—including 95% of death row exonerations that took 30 years or longer. With the increasing length of time before exoneration, capital cases have resulted in some of the largest wrongful conviction payments. In February 2024, the city of Tampa, Florida agreed to pay $14 million to Robert DuBoise, who spent 37 years on death row before he was exonerated by DNA testing. “This is what happens when the police focus on the wrong person, make up evidence to fit their theory and don’t investigate to find the truth,” Mr. DuBoise said. “Lives are ruined and communities are less safe.”