City of Edmond Approves $7 Million Settlement For Wrongful Conviction of Glynn Simmons
One of the Oklahoma cities involved in a wrongful conviction case has approved a settlement of more than $7 million for a civil lawsuit.
The City of Edmond has approved a settlement between city officials and Glynn Simmons.
Simmons was wrongfully convicted of the 1974 murder of Carolyn Rogers and spent nearly 50 years in prison.
The murder took place at a gas station in Edmond, but Simmons and several witnesses claim he was not in Oklahoma at the time.
Simmons was exonerated last year after it was decided he did not receive a fair trial and the current Oklahoma County District Attorney could not prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
After being released from prison, Simmons filed a lawsuit against the cities of Edmond and Oklahoma City and certain police officers involved in his case alleging they falsified evidence against him to frame him for the murder.
Simmons’ claims against Oklahoma City and retired detective Claude Shobert are still pending.
Voters Will Decide Minimum Wage Increase Proposal
Supporters to raise the state's minimum rage secured enough signatures to place the issue on the ballot.
The Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office verified more than 157,000 signatures, more than what was required.
State Question 832 could appear on the November ballot. Ultimately, it’s up to the governor to decide on which ballot the question will appear.
The proposal seeks to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2025, with gradual hikes until reaching $15 an hour by 2029. Further adjustments would be tied to the Consumer Price Index.
Oklahoma Health Care Authority Board Approves Nursing Home Rate Increase
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority Board has approved a nearly $29 million increase in state Medicaid funding for regular nursing facilities.
The board approved this financial bump after the 2024 legislature directed OHCA to appropriate money to improve long-term care provider rates.
It will put more than $100 million total in state and federal funds toward providing direct care and other costs in nursing homes.
Seventy percent of the funding supports direct care, which can yield higher reimbursements for facilities if they have more staff.
Mary Brinkley is a licensed nursing home administrator who spoke during public comment at an OHCA meeting last week.
“And in order to maintain quality nursing homes in Oklahoma, those that are staffing more need to be reimbursed to, um, be rewarded for what, the money that they have expended,” Brinkley said.
On average, nursing facilities will see about $20 more per resident, per day.
Update On Mississippi Institution’s Repatriation Efforts With Chickasaw Nation
More than 90 ancestral remains are coming home to the Chickasaw Nation.
A Mississippi institution continues its repatriation efforts with the tribe.
Before the Trail of Tears, Chickasaw people lived in what is now Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Two hundred years after their forced removal, the Chickasaw Nation is receiving vital pieces of their past: important artifacts and the remains of their loved ones.
Nonprofit news outlet Mississippi Today reports the Mississippi Department of Archives and History recently repatriated 95 remains and 1,500 funerary items to the Chickasaw Nation.
They also returned more than 400 remains and 83 lots of burial objects to the tribe in 2021.
At the time, that was the largest return of human remains in the state’s history.
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