Glynn Simmons Dies at 73 After Spending Nearly Half a Century in Prison for a Murder He Did Not Commit

Glynn Simmons, the Oklahoma man who spent more than 48 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit, has died at the age of 73. His death came just three years after a judge formally declared him innocent, bringing a heartbreaking end to a life marked by one of the longest wrongful imprisonments in American history.

Simmons died on October 28, 2026, from complications related to cancer, according to his family and reports from local media. He had been battling the disease since around the time he was released from prison.

His ordeal began with a robbery and fatal shooting at an Edmond, Oklahoma, liquor store on December 30, 1974. Store clerk Carolyn Sue Rogers was killed, while another woman survived the attack.

Simmons, then a young man, was convicted in 1975 alongside Don Roberts. Both men initially received death sentences, which were later reduced to life imprisonment following changes in the law.

Simmons consistently maintained that he had not been involved and was in Louisiana when the crime occurred. Yet he remained incarcerated for decades, spending 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison.

His case began to unravel after his legal team uncovered evidence that had not been disclosed to the defense. Among the material was a police report indicating that the surviving witness had identified other possible suspects during earlier identification procedures.

In July 2023, an Oklahoma judge ordered Simmons released after prosecutors acknowledged problems with the evidence and said they would not retry him. In December of that year, Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo went further, formally declaring him actually innocent.

The ruling made Simmons the longest-imprisoned person in the United States to be exonerated, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

Freedom, however, came with its own challenges. Simmons was diagnosed with advanced cancer and faced the difficult task of rebuilding his life after nearly five decades in prison. In 2024, Edmond approved a $7.15 million settlement connected to his wrongful imprisonment.

Despite the years he had lost, Simmons chose to remain in Oklahoma. His family said he wanted to build a legacy there and never forgot the people who had shown him kindness after his release.

In a statement announcing his death, his loved ones remembered a man who tried to meet hardship with gratitude and did not allow bitterness to define him.

Simmons’ story has become a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of wrongful convictions. He regained his freedom and received an official declaration of innocence, but he could never recover the decades taken from him.

He spent almost half a century fighting to prove he was innocent. He had only a few years outside prison before his death.