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The 70-year-old spent 48 years in prison by mistake for the murder he did not commit: What I missed most in the cell

2024-01-07 17:56:12Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The 70-year-old spent 48 years in prison by mistake for the murder he did not
Glynn Simmons

70-year-old Glynn Simmons is a US citizen who served 48 years in prison unjustly and was later acquitted.

Simmons was released from prison in July 2023. In December, he was acquitted of the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers. It is the longest known wrongful conviction in the US.

According to the BBC, Simmons took a long look out of the car's passenger seat window while driving with a friend along the highway to Tulsa, Oklahoma. His gaze was fixed on the starlit night sky.

It was a sight the 70-year-old hadn't been able to look at for nearly half a century, having spent most of his life in prison for a murder he didn't commit.

“It's things like that… watching the seasons change, the foliage, simple things you can't do in prison. You could not be satisfied. You couldn't watch it," Simmons told the BBC. "It's exciting."

His acquittal came after a district court found that prosecutors had not turned over all evidence to defense lawyers, including that a witness had identified other suspects.

Simmons was 22 when he and a co-defendant, Don Roberts, were sentenced to death in 1975, a sentence that was later commuted to life in prison.

"Being innocent helps you keep faith," he said among other things in the interview, adding that he is currently fighting cancer in the 4th stage of the deadly disease.

"I had just turned 21 years old. I had no prior experience with the criminal justice system,” Simmons said.

"I didn't know I had the right to a lawyer, the right to refuse. I had no idea," he said further.

Since his release from prison and acquittal, Simmons has experienced a whirlwind of emotions, the most powerful of which, he says, is gratitude.

He spent Christmas with his son, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren and added that he wanted to spend more time with them.


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