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Longest-Serving U.S. Inmate Francis Clifford Smith Dies in Connecticut at 101
Just the facts
Francis Clifford Smith died of natural causes at age 101 at the 60 West nursing facility in Connecticut after spending 76 years in the justice system. Smith was originally sentenced to death in 1949 for the murder of 68-year-old yacht club watchman Grover Hart during a robbery attempt, a charge he maintained his innocence against throughout his life. His death sentence was scheduled and postponed eight times before being commuted to life imprisonment in 1954. Although a co-defendant and witness later recanted statements implicating Smith, court reviews left his conviction in place until his release on supervised parole in 2020.
Why this is news
Francis Clifford Smith, identified as the longest-serving prisoner in United States history, died at an eldercare facility in Connecticut.
Sources
This summary is compiled strictly from the original reporting below.