The city of Edmond, Oklahoma, has agreed to a more than $7 million payout to former death row inmate Glynn Ray Simmons, 71, who was wrongfully imprisoned for nearly five decades, setting a record as the longest-serving wrongfully convicted inmate to be cleared .
The Edmond City Council silently approved the settlement on Monday, resolving the lawsuit brought by Simmons against the suburb and a former detective for a sum of $7.15 million. “Mr. Simmons spent a tragic amount of time incarcerated for a crime he did not commit,” declared his lawyer, Elizabeth Wang.
“Although he will never get that time back, this settlement with Edmond will allow him to move forward,” she added. Simmons’ legal battle continues with similar allegations against Oklahoma City and a retired detective from there, related to the same robbery and shooting incident; these claims are still active and not impacted by the Edmond settlement.