City Of Edmond Approves Settlement With Glynn Simmons, Who Wrongfully Spent 48 Years Behind Bars

The City of Edmond has reached an agreement to award Glynn Simmons a partial settlement of $7.15 million after his conviction for a 1974 murder was overturned. Simmons spent nearly five decades behind bars before being released from prison in 2023.

Tuesday, August 13th 2024, 11:51 am

By: News 9

EDMOND, Okla. -

The City of Edmond has approved a settlement reached on Monday between city officials and Glynn Simmons, who spent nearly five decades behind bars after being wrongfully convicted in a 1974 murder.

Simmons tried to prove his innocence several times, filing a motion for post-conviction relief that was denied in 1997. He also filed a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus in 1997, but it was also denied.

In September 2023, several witnesses testified that Simmons was not in Oklahoma when Carolyn Rogers was murdered at a liquor store in Edmond.

The testimony revealed Simmons was in Harvey, Louisiana, when the crime occurred on December 30, 1974.

Simmons was exonerated and released from prison in July 2023 at the age of 70. He was 22 years old at the time of his conviction.

Simmon's civil lawsuit is against the cities and police that his attorneys say "falsified evidence and suppressed exonerating evidence to frame him for murder."

In a press release from his legal team, they say the late Edmond Detective Sgt. Anthony Garrett and retired Oklahoma City Detective Claude Shobert hid the fact that the witness had identified other individuals and not Simmons and a report documenting this evidence of innocence, and the officers also wrote up a false report claiming that the witness had identified Simmons when she had not.

The Edmond City Council authorized a $7,150,000 settlement with Simmons, according to the press release.

The release says this settlement resolves only Simmons’s claims against the City of Edmond and the estate of Anthony David Garrett, former Edmond detective.

Simmons’s claims against the City of Oklahoma City and retired Oklahoma City Detective Claude Shobert remain pending.

Simmons’s lead attorney, Elizabeth Wang, said, “Mr. Simmons spent a tragic amount of time incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. Although he will never get that time back, this settlement with Edmond will allow him to move forward while also continuing to press his claims against the Oklahoma City defendants. We are very much looking forward to holding them accountable at trial in March.”