TULSA — After spending nearly five decades behind bars, an Oklahoma judge formally cleared Glynn Ray Simmons of a first-degree murder conviction.
Simmon's attorney, Joseph Norwood, says this is the longest-serving exoneration in U.S. history.
In 1974, a liquor store in Edmond was robbed by a gunman. Two women were shot: one survived, but the store's clerk did not.
Simmon's says he was in Louisiana that day. Norwood says multiple witnesses agree. However, a jury found Simmons guilty; locking him up from the ages of 22 to 70.
At a press conference in his Tulsa office on Friday, Norwood said the surviving woman picked out a man other than Simmons in the line up.
"Unfortunately, somehow, she ends up in court, saying it was Glynn she picked out in the line up, when it wasn’t," said Norwood.
Nearly 20 years behind bars, Simmons says his spouse passed away and he came across some life insurance money, which he used to hire a private investigator.
Norwood says key information was withheld from Simmons.
"One of those reports ended up being the basis for the conviction being vacated," said Norwood. "[It] showed that Glynn was not who this young lady picked out."
"Had those reports been revealed, no doubt the verdict would have been different," said Simmons.
Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo told a court in July "the state’s failure to disclose police department reports" denied Simmons a fair trial.
Simmons said he hasn't heard anything from Governor Stitt or any other state leaders.
To donate to Simmon's GoFundMe, click here.
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