Kenneth Glad
An unusual chapter in the justice system has drawn attention because of its remarkable duration. The story offers a rare glimpse at how some legal histories can span generations.
Francis Clifford Smith, a Connecticut man who spent roughly 70 years incarcerated and remained under sentence until his death, died June 25 at age 101.
Smith was on supervised parole at the 60 West nursing facility in Rocky Hill. He had been convicted in 1950 of murdering Grover S Hart, a 68-year-old night watchman shot at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich the previous year.
Smith maintained his innocence in Hart’s killing. Questions later emerged about evidence used to convict him.
Questions grew over his conviction
The BBC writes that witnesses later recanted statements and that another prisoner confessed to the murder. George Lowden, who had been arrested with Smith, implicated him after accepting a plea deal that allowed him to avoid a possible death sentence.
Former Connecticut State Police investigator Leo Carroll later questioned Smith’s guilt. At a pardon hearing, Carroll said he was “positive [Smith] didn’t kill Grover Hart,” according to GreenwichTime .
“I’m not even sure he was at the murder,” Carroll said.
Smith remained on death row until June 1954, when the Connecticut Board of Pardons commuted his sentence to 25 years to life shortly before another scheduled execution.
His imprisonment included interruptions
Smith escaped in 1967 and was recaptured 12 days later. He was paroled in 1975 but returned to prison after about 10 months.
He was arrested on larceny and dangerous-weapons charges. The Boston Globe reported that he was not convicted of those offenses, but authorities returned him to prison for violating parole.
Smith was eventually paroled to the Rocky Hill nursing facility in 2020 and remained under state supervision. Connecticut Department of Correction records continued to list him as sentenced while identifying his location as a nursing home.
News reports have described Smith as one of the longest-serving prisoners in U.S. history. His incarceration was interrupted, but he remained under a sentence stemming from the 1950 conviction for more than 75 years.
A spokesman for 60 West told the BBC that Smith had “essentially … died of old age.” The Boston Globe reported that he was cremated and that no funeral was held.
Sources: BBC, GreenwichTime, The Boston Globe
