Francis Clifford Smith

Francis Clifford Smith (September 1, 1924 – June 25, 2026) was an American man convicted of murder who was the longest-serving prisoner in United States history. Sentenced to death for the murder of a nightwatchman during a robbery at a yacht club in July 1949, his sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1954. Smith, who maintained innocence his entire life, was imprisoned until July 2020, when he was paroled and moved to a nursing home, remaining on supervised parole until his death in 2026.

Early life Smith was born on September 1, 1924, in Stamford, Connecticut, and grew up in Darien. He was the son of a roofer. He later went to a juvenile detention center. Smith and a cellmate later escaped after attacking a guard and stole a car, which they drove to the house of a relative of Smith, from which they stole two revolvers. Before he died, Hart described the two men who were robbing the club and mentioned that one of them wore a face covering, something that Smith did. The cafe owner also stated that Smith was one of two men who had been using the vehicle. At the trial, and throughout his life, Smith always maintained that he was innocent; The Boston Globe, in 2023, described it as "really, the only thing he ever talks about". Later, in February 1953, David Blumetti, a convicted robber who had once been imprisoned with Smith in Connecticut, and who was actively serving a prison sentence in Alabama, said that he had murdered Hart, and not Smith. Blumetti claimed that "Smith was supposed to have been involved, but backed out", and that the Cadillac in which the weapon was found was loaned to Blumetti and Lowden by Smith. The board then decided to commute his sentence to life in prison, two hours before he was to be executed. Smith worked as an auto mechanic, carpenter, clerk, and window washer. In May 1967, he escaped by driving away in a truck. Two weeks later, he was caught in Winthrop, Massachusetts, and returned to Enfield. In 1974, he was let out of prison for one day for Christmas Eve, and in 1975, he was paroled, but then returned to prison following 10 months for violating the conditions of his parole. After a last parole hearing in 1976, Smith gave up seeking parole. He was later held at the Osborn Correctional Institution. He was nicknamed "The Birdman of Osborn" there as he was known for taking bread to feed to birds.

In 2012, Smith was noticed by an official for the state board of pardons and offered a parole hearing, but declined. After declining offers several times, he applied for it in 2020 and was paroled on July 7, 2020 and released to 60 West, a nursing facility in Rocky Hill, Connecticut for those who were incarcerated. In total, Smith's prison service for the murder of Hart spanned 70 years and 31 days. It is the longest imprisonment in U.S. history. He had dementia in his last years. Smith died on June 25, 2026, at the age of 101 and was . His death was publicly announced over a month later.