Glynn Simmons keeps a copy of his death warrant, signed by the Oklahoma governor 50 years ago, ordering his execution in the electric chair. He was 22 years old at the time, convicted of a murder he did not commit. Forty-eight years later, after becoming the longest-incarcerated wrongfully convicted person in U.S. history, Mr. Simmons’ story has become central to a growing conservative movement questioning capital punishment — one that Nan Tolson is building in Texas.
Ms. Tolson leads Texas Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, creating what she has deemed a “safe space for conservatives to talk to like-minded people about the death penalty.” A former chief spokesperson for Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, Ms. Tolson’s opposition to the death penalty crystalized during her freshman year at Baylor University when a chapel speaker presented a Christian-based argument against the death penalty. Her approach centers on core conservative principles: capital punishment costs more than life imprisonment, making it fiscally irresponsible; evidence that it deters crime remains inconclusive; and, critically for those who distrust government overreach, strong evidence suggests Texas has executed more than a handful of innocent people.
Ms. Tolson also raises pro-life arguments: society can keep people safe while honoring the inherent dignity of every life, including those on death row. She points to Ramiro Gonzales, executed in Texas in 2024, despite his transformation behind bars. “The person that the State of Texas executed was not the person who committed the crime,” she says, noting that the state provided resources for his redemption but ultimately deemed his life expendable.
“As conservatives, we know that the government is not going to get it right every single time,” Ms. Tolson explains. When speaking with conservative groups across Texas, the risk of wrongful execution often emerges as the most common concern. Glynn Simmons embodies conservatives’ concerns with innocence.
“For 40 years, I couldn’t get justice,” Mr. Simmons told Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty in a recent video interview. “Because of certain procedures, procedural defaults, procedural bars, the courts would never look at my claims of actual innocence.” Prosecutors had known before Mr. Simmons’ 1975 trial that numerous witnesses had seen him in Louisiana at the time of the murder — however, they illegally withheld this evidence from his counsel. In September 2023, the charges against Mr. Simmons were dismissed. At least 201 individuals across the U.S. who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death have been exonerated; eleven of these individuals were sentenced to death and later exonerated in Oklahoma.
When asked what he would say to those who consider his case an anomaly, Mr. Simmons responds: “48 years later, they say I’m actually innocent. My question is, how many innocent people have you put to death in those 48 years? That’s my objection to the death penalty.” Mr. Simmons is also direct about the issue of deterrence: “The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime…I watched it for 40 years.” He reminds that when he entered Oklahoma’s prison system, there were seven prisons — when he was released, there were 47, which he sees as evidence that crime rates were not affected.
Ms. Tolson says ending the death penalty is an uphill battle, particularly with majority Republican support nationwide. “Half of what we do is show conservatives that it’s OK to be opposed to the death penalty. It doesn’t mean that you’re not a Republican, that you are not a conservative.” She also acknowledges that “it’s important for us to embrace that but also recognize that even if we have this emotional drive, it doesn’t mean that, in a practical sense or in reality, the death penalty is the right way to do it.”
Death Row Exoneree Glynn Simmons Speaks with Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned, Conservatives Concerned, November 25, 2025; Michelle Pitcher, Pro-Life, Anti-Death Penalty, Texas Observer, November 12, 2025.
