Vincent Simmons

Vincent Simmons

Vincent Simmons (born February 17, 1952) was a life prisoner at Angola State Prison in Louisiana, where he was sentenced to 100 years in July 1977 after being convicted of the "attempted aggravated rapes" of 14-year-old twin sisters Karen and Sharon Sanders of Marksville. Simmons has maintained his innocence throughout. By 1999 Simmons had filed numerous habeas corpus writs, but had not gained an evidentiary hearing by a Louisiana court. After receiving a copy of his evidence file in 1993, he had found that it contained exculpatory evidence that was not given to his court-appointed attorney by the District Attorney, and that there were inconsistencies in reports and statements of victims and witnesses.Simmons is one of six subjects of the documentary The Farm: Life In Angola Prison (1998) (shown on HBO). He is the sole subject of a follow-up documentary Shadows of Doubt: Vincent Simmons (1999), which explored his case, its weaknesses, and his severe sentence. He is one of the subjects of The Farm: 10 Down (2009), which returned 10 years later to the survivors among the six men featured in the 1998 film.

Update this biography »
Complete biography of Vincent Simmons »