USA: He was acquitted after 48 years in prison for a murder he did not commit

A court in the US state of Oklahoma acquitted a 71-year-old man, after he spent nearly half a century behind bars on charges of premeditated murder. Not committed.

Glenn Simmons, an African-American, is now the longest-serving man in US history (photos, above and below, and video, below) Before he was acquittedaccording to the National Patent Register.

The conviction was based on the testimony of one of the store’s customers

“Justice was served today.”
-Glenn Simmons pic.twitter.com/merHScM6dM

– Ali Mayer (@anchor) December 19, 2023

He and another man, Don Roberts, were sentenced to death in 1975 for killing a 30-year-old winery employee during a robbery in Edmond, Oklahoma. The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

The conviction of the two men was based on the testimony of one of the store’s customers, a teenage girl who was shot in the head during the robbery but survived.

Glenn Simmons has been acquitted after 48 years in prison of a murder he did not commit https://t.co/q9ZeDsmuVk via @nypost

— Ko-Fit 🇬🇭 🇺🇸 (@Kofit16) December 20, 2023

The teenager identified them among other suspects presented to her by police, but the subsequent investigation questioned the reliability of the identification.

During the original trial, the defendants testified that they were not even in Oklahoma on the day of the murder.

He was found not guilty

Glenn Simmons was released from prison in July after serving 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison. An Oklahoma jury found him guilty on Tuesday, and his conviction was overturned on Tuesday.

A man has been acquitted of murder after more than 48 years in prison. Glenn Simmons, 70, has been acquitted after serving the longest wrongful sentence in the US. #Wrongful conviction #Justice delayed [https://t.co/lKARBTmlQk]

– Hourly news (@News_Timing) December 21, 2023

“This is the day we have been waiting for for a very long time,” Mr. Simons summed up as he told the press. “We can say that justice was served today – finally.”

The other man convicted in this case, Don Roberts, was released in 2008, according to the National Registry of Innocence.

Glenn Simmons may now be entitled to compensation. “What’s done is done, but there must be accountability and compensation,” he ruled.

Source: Accuracy