OKLAHOMA CITY — An agreement has been reached for the city of Edmond to pay $7.15 million to Glynn Simmons, who unknowingly spent nearly 50 years in Oklahoma prisons for a murder he did not commit, as stated by his legal representatives this week.

The Edmond City Council approved the payout on Monday following Simmons’ federal lawsuit filed earlier this year against former Edmond detective Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Garrett, retired Oklahoma City detective Claude Shobert, and their respective municipalities. This settlement specifically addresses Simmons’ claims against Garrett and the city of Edmond. Claims against Shobert and Oklahoma City are still ongoing.

“Mr. Simmons endured an incredibly prolonged time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit,” stated Elizabeth Wang, a lead attorney from the Loevy & Loevy law firm, in a press release Tuesday. “Although it’s impossible to regain that time, this settlement with Edmond enables him to look ahead while still pursuing his claims against the Oklahoma City defendants. We are eager to hold them accountable in court in March.”

In a conversation with The Oklahoman, part of the YSL News Network, Simmons echoed his lawyers’ sentiments. He noted that while the federal case seems to be progressing quickly, it pales in comparison to the 48 years of wrongful imprisonment he experienced.

“But I give all praise to the Lord,” Simmons shared. “God has been good to me.”

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Simmons had been convicted for the 1974 murder of clerk Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery. His legal team asserts that Garrett and Shobert concealed evidence that could have cleared Simmons of guilt.

Furthermore, Simmons’ lawyers argue that the detectives fabricated witness reports, including one that supposedly identified Simmons in a line-up. He remained incarcerated for 48 years until Oklahoma County Judge Amy Palumbo ordered his release in 2023 and recognized him as “actually innocent” later that same year.

According to the University of Michigan Law School’s National Registry of Exonerations, Simmons is the longest-serving wrongfully convicted individual in U.S. history. He is also expected to receive $175,000 from the state of Oklahoma following a tort claim filed earlier this year.

A jury trial for Simmons’ federal lawsuit is set for March 2025.

Another individual, Don Roberts, was also convicted of Rogers’ murder. Both he and Simmons were initially sentenced to death, but a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision later changed their sentences to life imprisonment.

Roberts, paroled in 2008, still retains his conviction but hopes for his own innocence determination based on similar grounds as Simmons’ case.