Francis Clifford Smith, a US prisoner who spent more than 70 years behind bars and survived eight scheduled execution dates, has died aged 101.
Smith was convicted of the 1949 murder of Grover Hart, a night watchman at a yacht club in Connecticut, and sentenced to death the following year. He maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment.
Serious questions were later raised over the conviction, including after witnesses recanted statements and another inmate confessed to killing Hart. A police officer involved in Smith’s interrogation also subsequently said he had doubts about Smith’s guilt.
Smith was scheduled to be executed eight times. On each occasion, he was served a last meal before his execution was ultimately halted.
He spent more than seven decades in prison, apart from brief periods outside custody, before being granted supervised parole in 2020. He was subsequently moved to a care facility.
While in prison, Smith became known as “The Birdman of Osborn” for regularly feeding birds.
He died peacefully in his sleep in June, according to reports.
Smith’s lengthy imprisonment and eventual release have also highlighted wider concerns over the challenges of caring for an ageing prison population in the United States, particularly for inmates who have spent much of their lives in custody.
