Francis Clifford Smith, a Connecticut inmate believed to be the longest-serving and oldest prisoner in the United States, died on June 25 at the age of 101. Smith had been serving a life sentence for the 1949 murder of a night watchman.
Sentenced to death in 1950 for the murder of Grover S. Hart, a 68-year-old night watchman at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Smith's execution was slated multiple times but repeatedly postponed. His death sentence was commuted to 25 years to life in prison just two hours before he was scheduled to be electrocuted in 1954. This commutation followed an investigator's testimony expressing doubt about Smith's presence at the crime scene, where Hart was shot and died days later from his injuries.
Over his decades of incarceration, Smith's life was spared on eight occasions. Witnesses recanted their statements, and another inmate confessed to firing one of the shots that killed Hart, contributing to the numerous reprieves. Smith maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment.
In total, Smith served approximately 70 years, a duration believed to be the longest in American history. He died while on supervised parole at the 60 West nursing home in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. "It's quite remarkable to make it to 101, for anyone," Andrius Banevicius, a Connecticut Department of Correction public information officer, told the BBC. "Prison life is not great for longevity. It's quite unusual."
Known as the "Birdman of Osborn" during his time at the Osborn Correctional Institute for feeding birds with bread he kept in his clothes, Smith had a few brushes with freedom. He escaped prison for 12 days in 1967 and briefly returned to prison after spending Christmas Eve at home in 1974. He was granted parole in 1975 but was arrested and returned to prison about 10 months later for violating parole conditions, though he was not convicted of the new charges.
Smith reportedly refused parole for many years until he applied in 2020 at the age of 95, stating he had "been sitting here for a long time." He was subsequently paroled to the nursing home where he resided for the last six years of his life. A spokesman for the nursing home stated that Smith "essentially ... died of old age."
Smith's body was cremated, and he did not have a funeral. The Connecticut Department of Correction still listed his status as "sentenced" at the time of his death.