Longest-serving US prisoner dies at 101 after escaping death penalty 8 times
A man believed to have been the longest-serving prisoner in U.S. history has died at the age of 101, having his execution scheduled and postponed eight times as he maintained his innocence despite a murder conviction in Connecticut.Francis Clifford Smith died in his sleep in late June at 60 West, a secured Connecticut nursing facility that cares for older people in the justice system, according to the facility.Smith, who was just months away from turning 102, was cremated without a funeral."Essentially, he died of old age," 60 West spokesman David Skoczulek told the BBC.
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A man believed to have been the longest-serving prisoner in U.S. history has died at the age of 101, having his execution scheduled and postponed eight times as he maintained his innocence despite a murder conviction in Connecticut.Francis Clifford Smith died in his sleep in late June at 60 West, a secured Connecticut nursing facility that cares for older people in the justice system, according to the facility.Smith, who was just months away from turning 102, was cremated without a funeral."Essentially, he died of old age," 60 West spokesman David Skoczulek told the BBC. "He had very limited family involvement around his passing but we assured it was appropriate, met his wishes and was dignified."CALIFORNIA INMATE WHO SPENT 45 YEARS ON DEATH ROW FOR MURDERING PREGNANT WIFE DIESSmith was 25 when he was first sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Grover Hart, a 68-year-old night watchman at a Connecticut yacht club, during an attempted robbery on July 23, 1949. Smith was one of two men arrested in connection with the killing.
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- A man believed to have been the longest-serving prisoner in U.S. history has died at the age of 101, having his execution scheduled and postponed eight times as he maintained his innocence despite a murder conviction in Connecticut.Francis Clifford Smith died in his sleep in late June at 60 West, a secured Connecticut nursing facility that cares for older people in the justice system, according to the facility.Smith, who was just months away from turning 102, was cremated without a funeral."Essentially, he died of old age," 60 West spokesman David Skoczulek told the BBC.
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Longest-serving US prisoner dies at 101 after escaping death penalty 8 times
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