Glynn Simmons: Oklahoma: A flawed line up - and questionable police and prosecutorial conduct - sent this innocent man to death row. As the Death Penalty Information Center reports, he has been exonerated 48 years after he was sentenced to death - yes, you read that correctly..."Mr. Simmons was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers and wounding of another woman at a liquor store. Prosecutors said the surviving victim identified Mr. Simmons out of a line up, but never told the jury or defense team that she had also identified other people in the line up."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:This Blog is interested in  false eye-witness identification issues because  wrongful identifications are at the heart of so many DNA-related exonerations in the USA and elsewhere - and because so much scientific research is being conducted with a goal to making the identification process more   transparent and reliable- and less subject to deliberate manipulation.  I have also reported far too many cases over the years - mainly cases lacking DNA evidence (or other forensic evidence pointing to the suspect - where the identification is erroneous - in spite of witness’s certainty that it is true - or where  the police pressure the witness, or rig the identification process in order to make a desired  identification inevitable. 

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

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BACKGROUND: Glynn Simmons was convicted of shooting two Edmond women during a liquor store robbery in 1974, killing Carolyn Rogers. He was convicted after the surviving victim picked him out of a lineup, but Simmons said he wasn't even in the state at the time. His attorney said it was later discovered that the victim first identified other people in lineups, not Simmons. He said prosecutors never made that known to the jury or the defense and for years, his appeals were denied. Oklahoma County DA Vicki Behenna requested a new trial for Simmons because she said he wasn’t given a fair trial to begin with. She told KOCO 5 a police report wasn’t turned over and because of this, he deserves a fair chance at a fair trial."

KOCO 5 News abcL Reporter Brooke Withrow; July 19, 2023.

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "On September 11, 2023, DA Behenna announced she was requesting dismissal of the case against Mr. Simmons.  In a press release, she said, “the District Attorney determined the state will not be able to meet its burden at trial and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Simmons was responsible for Ms. Rogers’ murder.”  She explained that there was no longer any physical evidence in the case, witnesses and detectives were deceased or unavailable, and “The defense alleges that their alternate suspect was identified in one of the lineups.”  On September 19, 2023, Judge Palumbo granted DA Behenna’s request, dismissing the charges against Mr. Simmons.

POST: "Glynn Simmons Exonerated 48 Years After He Was Sentenced to Death in Oklahoma," published by The Death Penalty Information Center, on September 20, 2023."

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GIST: "Glynn Simmons, who was convicted and sentenced to death in Oklahoma in 1975, has been exonerated after Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna dropped charges against him. 

Mr. Simmons told The Black Wall Street Times, “I’m happy, and I’m free. It’s a long, long struggle. … We need to reimagine justice and how we do it.” 

DA Behenna said of the case, “One of the things that I stand by very strongly is a defendant’s right to a fair trial, where he has all the evidence to defend himself. That didn’t happen here.”

Mr. Simmons was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers and wounding of another woman at a liquor store. 

Prosecutors said the surviving victim identified Mr. Simmons out of a line up, but never told the jury or defense team that she had also identified other people in the line up. 

In 1977, his sentence was reduced to life in prison as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

In July 2023, at the request of DA Behenna, Judge Amy Palumbo vacated Mr. Simmons’ conviction and ordered a new trial. Mr. Simmons was released on bond. 

On September 11, 2023, DA Behenna announced she was requesting dismissal of the case against Mr. Simmons. 

In a press release, she said, “the District Attorney determined the state will not be able to meet its burden at trial and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Simmons was responsible for Ms. Rogers’ murder.” 

She explained that there was no longer any physical evidence in the case, witnesses and detectives were deceased or unavailable, and “The defense alleges that their alternate suspect was identified in one of the lineups.”

 On September 19, 2023, Judge Palumbo granted DA Behenna’s request, dismissing the charges against Mr. Simmons.

Mr. Simmons is the 195th person exonerated after being sentenced to death since 1973, and the 11th in Oklahoma. 

Six of Oklahoma’s exonerations originated in Oklahoma County.

 It is tied with Cuyahoga County, Ohio and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania for the second-most death row exonerations of any county in the U.S., behind Cook County, Illinois. 

All four of those counties have patterns of systemic misconduct by police and/or prosecutors. He is the third person exonerated in 2023."

The entire post can be read at:

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/glynn-simmons-exonerated-48-years-after-he-was-sentenced-to-death-in-oklahoma

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929

FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.

Lawyer Radha Natarajan;

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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