Wrongfully convicted of murder, black man exonerated after almost 50 years in prison

After almost half a century behind bars, a black man in the US has been exonerated of a homicide charge — the longest serving inmate to be vindicated. 70-year-old Glynn Simmons, a resident of Louisiana, was put behind bars for the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers.

A tale of resilience

Announcing the exoneration, Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo said: "This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned… was not committed by Mr Simmons."

Simmons, who spent 48 years, one month and 18 days in jail, said that he feels vindicated. With this, he has become the longest-serving wrongfully convicted person in the United States.

Addressing the media at a press conference, Simmons exclaimed, "It's a lesson in resilience and tenacity."

"Don't let nobody tell you that it (exoneration) can't happen, because it really can," he added.

Carolyn Sue Rogers

On December 30, 1974, Carolyn Sue Rogers, a clerk at the Edmond liquor store in Oklahoma, was fatally shot during a robbery.

Subsequently, another woman who had been shot in the robbery identified Simmons as the perpetrator, picking him out of a line-up. Due to this, Simmons was given the death penalty in 1975. However, in 1977, the US Supreme Court reduced his sentence to life in prison.

During the trial, and since, the accused kept insisting on his innocence. He claimed that at the time of the robbery,he was in Louisiana and notin Oklahoma.

Finally, in July 2023, at the request of DA Behenna, Judge Palumbo vacated Simmons' conviction and ordered a new trial.

In September 2023, DA Behenna announced that she'll be requesting a dismissal of the case, and said: "The District Attorney determined the state will not be able to meet its burden at trial and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Simmons was responsible for Ms. Rogers’ murder."

As per the Death Penalty Information Center, the DA revealed that there was no longer any physical evidence and that the witnesses, detectives, were deceased or unavailable.

With the exoneration, Simmons is now eligible for $175,000 in compensation from the state for wrongful conviction. As per BBC, he is currently battling cancer, and a GoFundMe campaign has raised thousands of dollars for his living costs and chemotherapy.

(With inputs from agencies)