Crime is regarded as an ubiquitous and pervasive issue that hinders the growth of society and its community. Understanding crime, at every level from minor to major is important to eradicate its impact on the modern and prevalent society. The impact of crime on societies leaves chaos and mayhem in its wake. Sometimes human nature and its darker aspects are to be blamed for these heinous crimes and coercion in the prevalent society.
To eradicate and prevent such activities from taking shape in society, criminals and wrongdoers are met with several harsh consequences. So, the minor crimes are met with imprisonment or penalty and major and heinous crimes are met with lifetime imprisonment or even death sentence. With the efforts of law and enforcement authorities, the criminals are met with their fate so they think twice before committing crimes shortly.
We’ll delve into the details of ten American prisoners who stayed behind bars longer than their own lives, as compiled in the world’s history:
10) Richard Honeck: 64 Years
Source: Wikipedia
Richard Honeck was an American native, who murdered his former school friend in 1899. One of his former schoolmates testified against him. Due to this heinous crime, he served lifetime imprisonment in Chester, Illinois. He completed a total of 64 years and one month of his life sentence in jail. He died in December 1976.
9) William Heirens: 65 Years
Source: Wikipedia
William Heirens is also known as Lipstick Killer. This name was given to this serial killer, as he would drop some cryptic message after killing his target victims. The killings had a resume of a few months with a gap of the murderers. He was soon arrested and confessed to his crimes. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for 65 years. He died in prison in 2012.
8) Warren Nutter: 65 Years
Source: Desmoines Register
Warren Nutter was an American, who at a very young age committed numerous crimes. He was first arrested for a robbery at the gas station. For this minor crime, he was arrested and later escaped from jail. Later on, he shot and killed a police officer in an attempt to free his accomplice.
This crime initially sentenced him to death and later he received life imprisonment. Nutter spent almost 65 years in various Iowa prisons. He died in 2021 while serving for his crimes.
7) Sammie Robinson: 66 Years
Source: The Guardian
Sammie Robinson was an American, who served in the jail at a very young age. He was sentenced to ten years for this crime. Additionally, a fatal fight between inmates caused the situation to further deteriorate leading to lifetime imprisonment. He was imprisoned in the toughest circumstances in Angola. Eventually, after so many years the rape conviction was eradicated from the court but Robinson was ill-fated. He dreamt of freedom and sadly, died in prison at the age of 83.
6) Johnson Van Dyke Grigsby: 66 Years
Source: Historical Crime Detective
Johnson Van Dyke Grigsby was convicted of second-degree murder. He went to an Indiana bar to play cards when another man started yelling at him and accused him of cheating. This started a tussle between Grigsby and the drunk man. As a result, Grigsby stabbed the man. The victim refused to get any medical check-ups and stayed at the bar until he bled to death. This uncertainty cost Grigsby his life, as he served in prison for 66 years. Later, he was paroled and shifted to a medical center for intensive care. He lived for ten years after his parole and died in 1987.
5) Walter Bourque: More Than 67 Years
Walter Bourque was an American, who served lifetime imprisonment at just the age of 17 years. He was convicted of killing a four-year-old child in Boston. Before his arrest, he volunteered to find her but confessed to his crime as he feared his father. In 1979, he was granted bail for only three days and returned to imprisonment devastated.
He tried a lot to get parole but couldn’t succeed. Finally, when he was granted parole he refused to come out of prison and as a result, he committed more crimes. The lifetime anger and remorse made him take this decision. In the present day, he is still serving his sentence.
4) Joseph Ligon: 68 Years
Source: Washington Post
Joseph Ligon was the longest-serving inmate in history. At only the age of 15, he was involved in a brawl that left two teens dead and others wounded. Due to this, he was charged with the murder. Ligon served lifetime imprisonment without parole. In the later years of his life, his case was highlighted in the reforms and finally granted parole after serving 68 years in prison. After the parole, he spent the rest of his life with his sister and niece.
3) John Phillips: 69 Years
Source: Murderpedia
John Philips was an American, who was convicted of raping a 4-year-old girl at the age of 17. Although, he was deemed unfit due to his developmental disabilities and mental impairment. Yet, he was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.
At an early age, he was diagnosed as a “moron” due to lack of knowledge. Later, the cruel system made him spend the rest of his life at mental hospitals and special imprisonment to serve his lifetime sentence. He died after serving a cruel prison sentence of 69 years. His inmates remember him by his nickname “Peanut”. This case of John Philips speaks of cruelty in the law and enforcement system with mentally impaired people.
2) Paul Geidel: 69 Years
Source: Murderpedia
Paul Giedel was an American, who was orphaned as an adolescent. At only the age of 17, he was active in crime. During the robbery, he suffocated a financier and was sentenced to many years in prison. The financier was a close friend of the district attorney, thus Geidel was met with the worst possible consequences of the crime he had committed. He got parole from prison after 69 years of his life and spent the rest of his life at a nursing home in 1987.
1) Francis Smith: 72 Years
Source: Facebook
Francis Smith was an American native born in 1924. In 1949, at a very young age, he was accused of killing a security guard. Smith was found guilty of the murder charge and was sent to prison. He was supposed to be served with a death sentence which later was reduced to lifetime imprisonment. He spent 72 years of his life in prison and at the age of 97, he was granted parole.
This cruel punishment speaks lengths of the justice system of the law enforcement and court system. Francis’ case is a testament to the human cruelty and complexity of the justice system in the world.
Conclusion
These facts greatly emphasised the fragility of the justice system. Although they committed crimes, they were not too heinous to be sentenced for too long. While there are many criminals and serial killers who are walking freely without the fear of being caught. These harsh punishments should be for them. They should be held accountable for their crimes and offensive activities. To protect and maintain the peace in the prevalent society, it is pivotal to take these necessary steps to ensure the safety of citizens.
