LONGEST PRISON SENTENCES SERVED

Ten longest prison sentences served by a single person, worldwide, without a period of freedom followed by a second conviction.

NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Charles Fossard	1903	1974	70 Years 303 Days	Australia
Homeless French Australian confined to mental asylum after murdering an elderly man and stealing his boots. Died while still incarcerated at the age of 92.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Paul Geidel, Jr.	1911	1980	68 Years 245 Days	U.S.
Longest serving prison inmate in the U.S. whose sentence ended in release. Incarcerated at age 17 and released in 1980 at age 86. He died in a nursing home in 1987, aged 93.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Francis C. Smith	June 7, 1950	Ongoing	68 Years 176 Days	U.S.
Oldest prisoner in the U.S. Sentenced to death for the murder of a night watchman during a robbery in July 1949. His sentence was commuted to life in prison, only 2 hours before his scheduled execution.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Johnson Van Dyke Grigsby	1908	1974	66 Years 123 Days	U.S.
Sentenced to life in prison for murder, he was denied parole 69 times before he was released at age 89. He returned to prison voluntarily, citing difficultly finding a job, but left again in 1976. He died in 1987, aged 101.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
John Phillips	July 17, 1952	Ongoing	66 Years 136 Days	U.S.
Longest serving prisoner in North Carolina.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
William Heirens	1946	2012	65 Years 181 Days	U.S.
Known as the “Lipstick Killer.” Reputed to be the longest surviving prisoner in Chicago. Died in prison.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Joseph Ligon	1953	Ongoing	64 Years 347 Days	U.S.
The oldest juvenile lifer in the U.S. Ligon at age 15 was sentenced to life without parole for murder, a mandatory sentence at the time. Ligon rejected a parole offer in 2016, but refused it pending an appeal. His appeal seeks a resentence to “time served”.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Clarence Marshall	1950	2015	64 Years 70 Days	U.S.
Longest serving prisoner in Michigan. Sentenced to life in prison on one count of armed robbery and another of unarmed assault “with intent to rob and steal”. Paroled.
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Richard Honeck	1899	1963	64 Years 44 Days	U.S.
At age 22, Honeck was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a former school friend. He was paroled after 63 years and one month. He died in 1976, aged 97
NAME	SENTENCE START	SENTENCE END	SENTENCE DURATION	COUNTRY
Howard Chritensen	1937	2001	64 Years	U.S.
Sentenced to life without parole for the murder of a teacher in 1937, when he was 16. His sentence was commuted to 200 years in the mid-1970s. Died in 2003, age 82.