71-year-old served 48 years in prison for being innocent
It's a new record: a man has spent more than 48 years in prison in the USA for a murder he did not commit. He has been free since July and is now officially declared innocent.
After more than 48 years in prison, a man wrongly convicted of murder has been declared innocent in the US state of Oklahoma. According to The National Registry of Exonerations, this makes 71-year-old Glynn Simmons the longest innocent prisoner in US history before being acquitted.
The African-American had already been released in July after exactly 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison. Judge Amy Palumbo had overturned Simmons' conviction at the time. The official acquittal took place on Tuesday, as was announced on Wednesday. "We've waited a long, long time for this day," said Simmons afterwards. "We can finally say that justice has been done."
Simmons and another suspect, Don Roberts, had been sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder of a liquor store employee in the town of Edmond during a robbery. The death sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment. The conviction was based solely on the testimony of a juvenile who suffered a gunshot wound to the head during the robbery but survived.
Not even in Oklahoma
She subsequently claimed to recognize Simmons and Roberts. Later, there were considerable doubts about the reliability of this statement. Both men claimed during the trial that they were not even in Oklahoma at the time of the crime. Roberts was released from prison back in 2008.
Simmons should now be entitled to a compensation payment. "What was done cannot be undone, but there could be accountability," said the acquitted man.
Serious wrongful convictions occur time and again in the USA. Those affected are often members of minorities such as African-Americans, who often cannot afford good lawyers. Critics see systemic racism in the US justice system.
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In light of this miscarriage of justice, international human rights organizations have called for an investigation into the role of the death penalty in wrongful convictions in the USA. The 71-year-old's ordeal underscores the need for a fair and just criminal justice system that does not result in innocent people facing the death penalty.
Source: www.ntv.de
