An Oklahoma man who in 1975 was convicted of murder in a liquor store robbery was exonerated in court on Tuesday after he had spent more than 48 years in prison, the authorities said, Report informs, citing the New York Times.
It was thought to be the longest time served by a wrongfully convicted inmate in the United States, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, which tracks the length of sentences for wrongful convictions.
The man, Glynn Simmons, 70, was declared innocent in a ruling by Judge Amy Palumbo of Oklahoma County District Court. Mr. Simmons was released on bond in July after Judge Palumbo agreed during a status hearing to vacate the judgment and sentence at the request of Vicki Zemp Behenna, the Oklahoma County district attorney who had been reviewing his case.
Ms. Behenna, whose office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, found that important evidence in Mr. Simmons’s case had not been turned over to his defense lawyers.
An amended order, signed by Judge Palumbo on Tuesday, said that the court found “by clear and convincing evidence” that the crime that Mr. Simmons was imprisoned for “was not committed by Mr. Simmons.”
According to the exonerations’ registry, Mr. Simmons spent more time behind bars—48 years, one month, and 18 days—than any other person cleared of charges.
“It’s a lesson in resilience and tenacity,” Mr. Simmons said of his case during a news conference after the ruling. “Don’t let nobody tell you that it can’t happen, because it really can.”