Mr Simmons is looking forward to spending more time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Glynn Ray Simmons is an American man who was wrongfully convicted in the U.S. state of Oklahoma in 1975 of the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers.
After having been exonerated, he was released from prison in 2023 at the age of 70, after having been imprisoned for 48 years.
The idiom “a cold day in Hell”
is used to express extreme skepticism
about the likelihood of something happening.
It implies that the event being referred to
is highly improbable or impossible.
The phrase draws on the concept of
Hell being an infernal, hot place,
so the idea of a cold day there
would be inconceivable.
Therefore, when someone says
“it’ll happen on a cold day in Hell,”
they’re essentially saying
it will never happen.
Wrongful Imprisonment: Glynn Simmons 48 Years in Prison | True Crime
10 okt 2023
Discover the harrowing tale of Glynn Simmons, wrongfully convicted in the tragic 1974 Edmond Liquor Store shooting. Despite strong alibis, Simmons and Don Roberts were convicted of capital murder, facing death sentences. After a legal landscape shift, their sentences were commuted, but the fight for justice continued.
In 1998, critical evidence emerged, revealing suppressed reports undermining the prosecution’s case.
In 2023, a motion for post-conviction relief led to a new trial order and Simmons’ release after an agonizing 48 years. This case spotlights systemic flaws and underscores the need for ongoing justice reform. Subscribe for more stories of exoneration and the pursuit of justice.
1 Special Report: The Wrong Man
Back to menu IMPORTANT CONTENT Listening recommended Must ***
11 dec 2023
Special Report: The Wrong Man. Twenty years ago, Simmons sent News 4 a letter from prison, and KFOR’s Ali Meyer started investigating, bringing to light questions about the evidence and the trial.
Stay informed about Oklahoma news and weather! Follow KFOR News 4 on our website and social channels.
The key points of the idiom “It will happen on a cold day in Hell” are:
Improbability:
The idiom suggests that the event in question is highly unlikely or improbable to occur.
Skepticism:
It conveys a sense of doubt or skepticism about the likelihood of the event happening.
Emphasis on impossibility:
By referencing Hell, a place associated with extreme heat and torment,
and juxtaposing it with the idea of a cold day,
the idiom underscores the idea of impossibility or incredibility.
Strong negation:
The phrase is often used to emphatically express disbelief or rejection of a statement or proposition.
Overall, the idiom serves as a colorful and emphatic way to convey extreme skepticism or doubt about the likelihood of something happening.
2 Judge declares Glynn Simmons innocent
Judge declares Glynn Simmons innocent
3 US inmate freed after 48 years in prison for murder he didn’t commit | BBC News
Back to menu IMPORTANT CONTENT Listening recommended Must ***
21 dec 2023
US man Glynn Simmons has been exonerated, after spending 48 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, the longest known wrongful sentence in the US.
An Oklahoma judge freed the 70-year-old after a district court found that crucial evidence in his case was not turned over to his defence lawyers.
On Monday, a county district attorney said there was not enough evidence to warrant a new trial.
4 Lawyers talk Glynn Simmons, exonerated after 48 years in Oklahoma prison
LIVE | Lawyers talk Glynn Simmons, exonerated after 48 years in Oklahoma prison
5 Glynn Simmons speaks hours after learning he’s a free man
6 Gravitas: 71-year-old Glynn Simmons exonerated after 48 years in wrongful imprisonment
Back to menu IMPORTANT CONTENT Listening recommended Must ***
7 The Man JAILED For 48 Years For A Murder He Didn’t Commit
Back to menu IMPORTANT CONTENT Listening recommended Must ***
10 mrt 2024
At the age of 21, Glynn Simmons agreed to take part in a police line-up, leading him to be imprisoned for 48 years for a murder he didn’t commit.
Now 71, he tells Piers Morgan his uncensored story, from the day he was wrongfully accused, to the day he finally tasted freedom.
00:00 – Introduction
01:09 – “The Most Extraordinary Miscarriage of Justice”
02:20 – Freedom Was Like “Being Born Again”
02:53 – Recounting Glynn’s Incredible Story
05:44 – Witness Belinda Brown’s ‘Jumbled Mind’
09:45 – Did Race Play A Part In Glynn’s Conviction?
10:46 – His Mother’s Reaction To His Wrongful Conviction
11:32 – Death Row And Solitary Confinement
14:29 – On Facing Execution
15:13 – On Religion
16:13 – On Escaping Jail And Going On The Run For Three Weeks
19:26 – How He Was Eventually Proven Innocent
24:41 – On Being Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer
26:49 – On Family
28:19 – On Suing The Police And Helping Other People
30:52 – Does He Feel Anger About What Happened To Him?
32:29 – What Was The Best And Worst Thing About The World Coming Out?
33:02 – Did He Find Solace In Books?
33:40 – What Does He Want To Achieve With The Rest Of His Life?
8 Glynn Simmons exonerated after 48-year-long murder conviction
9 Glynn Simmons files wrongful conviction lawsuit
10 ‘I’m an innocent man’: Glynn Simmons freed after 48 years behind bars
23 sep 2023
After spending nearly five decades behind bars, an Oklahoma judge formally cleared Glynn Ray Simmons of a first-degree murder conviction.
Simmon’s attorney, Joseph Norwood, says this is the longest-serving exoneration in U.S. history.
In 1974, a liquor store in Edmond was robbed by a gunman. Two women were shot: one survived, but the store’s clerk did not.
Simmon’s says he was in Louisiana that day. Norwood says multiple witnesses agree. However, a jury found Simmons guilty; locking him up from the ages of 22 to 70.
11 Donation given to Glynn Simmons who’s now a free man
11 okt 2023
Donation given to Glynn Simmons who’s now a free man
Stay informed about Oklahoma news and weather! Follow KFOR News 4 on our website and social channels.
12 Glynn Simmons Innocence Day
13 Oklahoma County DA to drop case against Glynn Simmons
Oklahoma County DA to drop case against Glynn Simmons
14 The UNLUCKIEST man in the WORLD? | Who the ** is Glynn Simmons?
9 jan 2024
After 48 years, a man who says he was wrongfully convicted of murder has officially had his case dismissed.
Glynn Simmons was 22 when he was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1974 death of Carolyn Sue Rogers at a local liquor store. Simmons is now 70.
Glynn Simmons took a long glance out the window of the car passenger seat as he drove with a friend along the freeway to Tulsa, Oklahoma. His gaze was fixated on the night sky, lit up with stars.
It was a sight the 70-year-old had not been able to witness for nearly half a century, after spending most of his life in prison for a murder he did not commit.
“It’s things like that … watching the seasons change, the foliage, simple things that you couldn’t do in prison. You couldn’t enjoy it. You couldn’t see it,” Mr Simmons told the BBC. “It’s exhilarating.”
Mr Simmons was released from prison in July 2023. In December he was declared innocent in the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers. His is the longest known wrongful conviction in the US.
His sentence was vacated after a district court found that prosecutors had not turned over all evidence to defence lawyers, including that a witness had identified other suspects.
He was 22 when he and a co-defendant, Don Roberts, were convicted and sentenced to death in 1975, a punishment that was later reduced to life in prison.
Mr Simmons spoke to the BBC this week about his newfound freedom, his current battle with Stage 4 cancer and the hope that carried him through 48 years behind bars.
“Being innocent, it helps you to keep your faith,” he said. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t lose my faith, lots of times. But it’s like a rubber band – you expand and you return.”
A ‘conscious disregard of justice’
In January 1975 Mr Simmons was one of several people arrested at a party on separate “bogus robbery charges”, he said.
He was brought into a police station, where officers asked him to participate in a line-up for the murder of Rogers the month before, in a liquor store robbery in an Oklahoma City suburb. The murder of Rogers – who was working as a store clerk when she was shot in the head – has yet to be solved.
“I had just turned 21. I had no previous experience with the criminal justice system,” Mr Simmons said. “I didn’t know I had a right to an attorney, a right to refuse. I had no clue.”
Glynn Simmons wants to fight for criminal justice reform
A customer who was shot in the head during the incident was asked to pick out the murder suspect from the line-up just days after getting out of the hospital, Mr Simmons said.
She never identified Mr Simmons, he said. Instead, she pointed to different characteristics of at least three others in the line-up, according to Mr Simmons’ lawyer, Joe Norwood.
Still, Mr Simmons – who said he was in Louisiana at the time of the murder – was convicted and given the death penalty.
“I don’t call it a miscarriage of justice. It wasn’t a mistake. It was a deliberate act,” Mr Simmons said. “It was a conscious disregard of justice.”
It was 1975 in Oklahoma, when an atmosphere of racism was still palpable, said Mr Simmons, a black man.
Police “had a whole lot of cases on the books that weren’t solved, and there was a whole lot of pressure”, he added.
Black people are about 7.5 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder in the US than white people, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
There were days in prison when he “lost his mind”, he said. He had anxiety attacks, and as he grew older, it was hard sometimes to hold onto hope that his name would be cleared, he said.
“When you watch guys dying all around you all the time, you do the math,” he said.
There would be even more bad news for Mr Simmons. He was diagnosed with liver cancer just a year before being freed, his second battle with the disease.
He was put on a treatment waitlist but was not able to receive chemotherapy before he got out of prison. In that time, the cancer metastasized, he said.
“My struggle to be released intensified more than it had all the years before,” he said.
“You begin to lose faith. But for me it never lasts long.”
A bittersweet freedom
Since leaving prison and being declared innocent, Mr Simmons has experienced a whirlwind of emotions, the most powerful being gratitude, he said.
He spent Christmas with his son, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
“It was beautiful. I had a ball. Everything we’ve been doing is a first,” he said.
Crystal Chatmon Glynn SimmonsCrystal Chatmon
Mr Simmons said knowledge of his own innocence helped get him through time behind bars
Still, his gratitude has been punctuated by feelings of bitterness over the decades of life he lost.
Mr Simmons said he had received no apology from the state of Oklahoma.
He left prison with no personal belongings or money for his basic needs and medical treatments.
Wrongfully convicted people who serve time in Oklahoma are eligible for up to $175,000 (£138,000) in compensation – about $3,600 for each year he served in prison, Mr Simmons noted.
He believes any compensation likely won’t arrive for years.
In the meanwhile, a fundraiser for Mr Simmons has raised $326,000, including anonymous donations as high as $30,000.
Mr Simmons wants to spend his new life of freedom sharing his story and working to reform a criminal justice system that saw an innocent man spend most of his life behind bars.
“That’s my inspiration for the future, trying to reach back and help some of the guys who are in the same position I was in,” he said. “We’ve got to do something on criminal justice reform. We need to really rethink how we do this.”
He plans to take time for himself too. Mr Simmons has already been to an Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game. He wants to travel the world.
“I’ve been to one extreme of incarceration,” he said. “Now I want to go to the other extreme of liberation.”
He is also trying to let go of resentments over his wrongful incarceration in order to make the most of his freedom.
“There’s been anger there for almost 50 years – anger, bitterness,” he said. “But you have to regulate it or it’ll eat you up.”
“What’s been done can’t be undone, so I don’t wallow in it.”
BBC – Glynn Simmons: Freedom ‘exhilarating’ for man exonerated after 48 years
“Glynn Simmons wierp een lange blik uit het raam van de passagiersstoel van de auto terwijl hij met een vriend over de snelweg naar Tulsa, Oklahoma reed. Zijn blik was gefixeerd op de nachtelijke hemel, verlicht door sterren.
Het was een gezicht dat de 70-jarige bijna een halve eeuw niet had kunnen aanschouwen, nadat hij het grootste deel van zijn leven in de gevangenis had doorgebracht voor een moord die hij niet had gepleegd.
“Dingen zoals dat … het zien van de seizoenen veranderen, het gebladerte, simpele dingen die je niet kon doen in de gevangenis. Je kon er niet van genieten. Je kon het niet zien,” vertelde meneer Simmons aan de BBC. “Het is opwindend.”
Meneer Simmons werd in juli 2023 vrijgelaten uit de gevangenis. In december werd hij onschuldig verklaard aan de moord op Carolyn Sue Rogers in 1974. Zijn zaak is de langst bekende onterechte veroordeling in de VS.
Zijn straf werd nietig verklaard nadat een districtsrechtbank had vastgesteld dat aanklagers niet alle bewijsstukken aan de verdediging hadden overhandigd, waaronder dat een getuige andere verdachten had geïdentificeerd.
Hij was 22 toen hij samen met een medeverdachte, Don Roberts, werd veroordeeld en ter dood veroordeeld in 1975, een straf die later werd omgezet in levenslang.
Meneer Simmons sprak deze week met de BBC over zijn nieuwe vrijheid, zijn huidige strijd tegen stadium 4 kanker en de hoop die hem 48 jaar lang achter de tralies heeft gedragen.
“Onschuldig zijn, helpt je om je geloof te behouden,” zei hij. “Ik zou liegen als ik zei dat ik mijn geloof niet meerdere keren verloor. Maar het is als een rubberen band – je rekt uit en keert terug.”
Een ‘bewuste veronachtzaming van gerechtigheid’
In januari 1975 werd meneer Simmons samen met enkele anderen gearresteerd op een feestje voor afzonderlijke “valse berovingen”, zei hij.
Hij werd naar een politiebureau gebracht, waar agenten hem vroegen deel te nemen aan een line-up voor de moord op Rogers de maand ervoor, bij een overval op een slijterij in een voorstad van Oklahoma City. De moord op Rogers – die als winkelbediende werkte toen ze in het hoofd werd geschoten – is nog steeds onopgelost.
“Ik was net 21 geworden. Ik had geen eerdere ervaring met het strafrechtelijk systeem,” zei meneer Simmons. “Ik wist niet dat ik recht had op een advocaat, het recht om te weigeren. Ik had geen idee.”
Glynn Simmons wil vechten voor hervorming van het strafrecht
Een klant die tijdens het incident in het hoofd was geschoten, werd gevraagd de moordverdachte aan te wijzen uit de line-up slechts enkele dagen nadat ze uit het ziekenhuis was ontslagen, zei meneer Simmons.
Ze heeft meneer Simmons nooit geïdentificeerd, zei hij. In plaats daarvan wees ze op verschillende kenmerken van minstens drie anderen in de line-up, volgens de advocaat van meneer Simmons, Joe Norwood.
Toch werd meneer Simmons – die naar eigen zeggen in Louisiana was op het moment van de moord – veroordeeld en ter dood veroordeeld.
“Ik noem het geen gerechtelijke dwaling. Het was geen vergissing. Het was een bewuste daad,” zei meneer Simmons. “Het was een bewuste veronachtzaming van gerechtigheid.”
Het was 1975 in Oklahoma, toen een sfeer van racisme nog tastbaar was, zei meneer Simmons, een zwarte man.
De politie “had veel onopgeloste zaken op de plank liggen en er was veel druk”, voegde hij eraan toe.
Zwarte mensen hebben in de VS ongeveer 7,5 keer meer kans om ten onrechte te worden veroordeeld voor moord dan blanke mensen, volgens het National Registry of Exonerations.
Er waren dagen in de gevangenis dat hij “zijn verstand verloor”, zei hij. Hij kreeg angstaanvallen en naarmate hij ouder werd, was het soms moeilijk om hoop te koesteren dat zijn naam gezuiverd zou worden, zei hij.
“Als je constant mensen om je heen ziet sterven, maak je de rekensom wel,” zei hij.
Er zouden nog meer slechte nieuws komen voor meneer Simmons. Hij kreeg een jaar voor zijn vrijlating de diagnose leverkanker, zijn tweede gevecht met de ziekte.
Hij stond op een wachtlijst voor behandeling maar kon geen chemotherapie krijgen voordat hij uit de gevangenis kwam. In die tijd was de kanker uitgezaaid, zei hij.
“Mijn strijd om vrijgelaten te worden werd intenser dan ooit tevoren,” zei hij.
“Je begint je geloof te verliezen. Maar voor mij duurt het nooit lang.”
Een bitterzoete vrijheid
Sinds hij de gevangenis heeft verlaten en onschuldig is verklaard, heeft meneer Simmons een achtbaan van emoties ervaren, waarvan de krachtigste dankbaarheid is, zei hij.
Hij heeft kerst gevierd met zijn zoon, drie kleinkinderen en zeven achterkleinkinderen.
“Het was prachtig. Ik heb me geweldig vermaakt. Alles wat we hebben gedaan, is voor het eerst,” zei hij.
Toch is zijn dankbaarheid onderbroken door gevoelens van bitterheid over de decennia van leven die hij heeft verloren.
Meneer Simmons zei dat hij geen excuses heeft ontvangen van de staat Oklahoma.
Hij verliet de gevangenis zonder persoonlijke bezittingen of geld voor zijn basisbehoeften en medische behandelingen.
Onschuldig veroordeelde mensen die tijd uitzitten in Oklahoma hebben recht op maximaal $175.000 (£ 138.000) aan compensatie – ongeveer $3.600 voor elk jaar dat hij in de gevangenis heeft gezeten, merkte meneer Simmons op.
Hij gelooft dat enige compensatie waarschijnlijk pas over jaren zal komen.
Intussen heeft een inzamelingsactie voor meneer Simmons $ 326.000 opgehaald, inclusief anonieme donaties tot wel $30.000.
Meneer Simmons wil zijn nieuwe leven van vrijheid besteden aan het delen van zijn verhaal en het werken aan hervorming van een strafrechtelijk systeem dat een onschuldige man het grootste deel van zijn leven achter de tralies heeft laten doorbrengen.
“Dat is mijn inspiratie voor de toekomst, proberen terug te reiken en wat van de jongens te helpen die in dezelfde positie zitten als ik destijds,” zei hij. “We moeten iets doen aan hervorming van het strafrecht. We moeten echt nadenken over hoe we dit aanpakken.”
Hij wil ook tijd voor zichzelf nemen. Meneer Simmons is al naar een wedstrijd van de Oklahoma City Thunder NBA geweest. Hij wil de wereld rondreizen.
“Ik ben aan het ene uiterste van opsluiting geweest,” zei hij. “Nu wil ik naar het andere uiterste van bevrijding.”
Hij probeert ook wrokgevoelens over zijn onterechte gevangenschap los te laten om optimaal van zijn vrijheid te kunnen genieten.
“Er is bijna 50 jaar lang woede geweest – woede, bitterheid,” zei hij. “Maar je moet het reguleren anders verteert het je.”
“Wat is gebeurd, kan niet ongedaan worden gemaakt, dus ik blijf er niet in hangen.”
BBC – Glynn Simmons: Freedom ‘exhilarating’ for man exonerated after 48 years
15 JFL Prank – Man In Woman Shoes
2 apr 2011
Man likes the feeling of these open toe high heel women shoes but hasn’t mastered the walk yet.
A presentation of the Just For Laughs Gags. The funny hidden camera pranks show for the whole family. Juste pour rire les gags, l’émission de caméra caché la plus comique de la télé!