An Oklahoma judge on Tuesday declared innocent a man who spent 48 years in prison for a murder he did not commit – believed to be the longest amount of time served by anyone wrongfully convicted in the United States.
It finally came,” Glynn Simmons, 70, told reporters, according to local news outlet KFOR, after the hearing where an Oklahoma County District Court judge issued an order formally declaring him innocent.
Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days following his conviction, earning him a grim distinction: He served the longest wrongful incarceration of any exoneree in the US, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
“Obviously, we’re just very happy,” Joe Norwood, an attorney for Simmons, told CNN in an interview Thursday.
Simmons’ four-plus decade ordeal officially ended Tuesday with Judge Amy Palumbo’s amended order dismissing the case against him with prejudice.
Glynn Simmons is seen after Judge Amy Palumbo ruled to approve his "actual innocence" claim during a hearing at the Oklahoma County Courthouse on Tuesday.
Ultimately, Simmons and his co-defendant were convicted, the district attorney’s office news release said, and, at first, sentenced to death. »
