The Longest Serving Death Row Inmates Of All Time

By Juliet Smith 1 year ago

30. David Earl Miller - 36 years

Image Source/ WBIR.com

Miller was executed in 1981 for the m*rder of Lee Standifer, a handicapped woman who was 23 years old at the time of her death. In December 2018, Miller was put to death using the electric chair, when he held the record for the longest time spent on death row in the state of Tennessee.

29. Michael Owen Perry - 37 years

Image Source/ Lagniappe Magazine

in Lake Arthur, Louisiana, Perry was responsible for the m*rders of his parents, two of his cousins, and his nephew, who was 2 years old. Perry has been on execution row in Louisiana longer than any other person and his sentence is still ongoing, with no date set for his execution.

28. Douglas Stewart Carter - 37 years

Image Source/ KSL TV

Carer was sentenced to a death sentence on December 27, 1985, after being convicted of m*rdering an elderly woman. The m*rder took place during a burglary gone wrong in Provo, Utah and while his sentence is still ongoing, he has been assigned death by lethal injection.

27. Kevin Cooper - 37 years

Image Source/ San Francisco Chronicle

After escaping jail, career burglar Cooper was sentenced to death for the 1983 house invasion in Chino Hills, California that killed four family members and attempted to kill two others. Cooper was scheduled for execution on February 10, 2004, but DNA testing of the crime site and getaway vehicle postponed it. The tests supported Cooper's guilt.

26. Richard Delmer Boyer - 38 years

Image Source/ Wikipedia

Boyer was sentenced to death on December 14, 1984, and brutally and fatally st*bbing an innocent elderly couple. Boyer is still currently awaiting a death sentence date to be set, however he has currently been sat in prison on death row for a total of 38 years and 105 days.

25. Sadamichi Hirasawa - 37 years

Image Source/ Murderpedia

Under duress, Hirasawa admitted his guilt in the 1948 poisoning of ten Imperial Bank personnel, known as the Teikoku Bank Incident. No Justice Minister was willing to sign Hirasawa's execution warrant since they all believed the charges against him were groundless. He was not allowed a new trial, and he passed away in 1987 from pneumonia while still on death row.

24. Carey Dean Moore - 38 years

Image Source/ NZ Herald

Moore was executed for the m*rders of two individuals who worked as taxi drivers in the state of Nebraska. On August 14, 2018, he was put to death by injection of a deadly dr*g. He was the inmate on Nebraska's execution row with the longest sentence.

23. Thomas Knight - 38 years

Image Source/ Wikipedia

Knighted met his fate by lethal injection for the killing of three individuals in the state of Florida. In 1974, Knight was responsible for the m*rder of a couple in Miami, and in 1980, he was responsible for the m*rder of a prison officer when he was on death row. On January 7, 2014, he was put to death by injection of a deadly dr*g.

22. Lawrence Bittaker - 38 years

Image Source/ Reuters

One of the two individuals known as the "Toolbox Killers," who in 1979 abducted, r*ped, tortured, and ultimately m*rdered five adolescent girls in southern California over the course of a period of five months. Bittaker met his end in 2019 when he passed from natural causes.

21. Gary Alvord - 39 years

Image Source/ Death Penalty Information Center

Alvord was a schizophrenic man found guilty of killing three innocent women in Florida, US, over the cost of one game of pool and was sentenced to death for his violent crimes. After a number of setbacks, he ultimately passed away from a brain tumor.

20. Michael Morales - 39 years

Image Source/ Wikipedia

In California, Morales r*ped and m*rdered a 17-year-old girl who was involved in a love triangle with Morales' cousin and another man. Even though Morales never denied his guilt, there was growing skepticism regarding the evidence that was provided during his trial as the date of his scheduled execution on February 26, 2006 drew closer. The execution was put on hold indefinitely.

19. George Banks - 39 years

Image Source/ Times Leader

On a rampage, Banks was found guilty and condemned to death for the shooting deaths of twelve people in Wilkes-Barre in 1982, including his own five children. Despite the fact that his claim of insanity was not accepted during the course of the trial, he was deemed incapable of being executed.

18. Murray Hopper - 39 years

Image Source/ AZCentral

Hooper was convicted of engaging in robbery as well as the killings of Patrick Redmond and his mother-in-law Helen Phillips on December 31, 1980, as well as the attempted m*rder of Redmond's wife on the same day. In spite of the fact that certain government authorities had doubts about his guilt, he was given an injection of a dr*g that would end his life on November 16, 2022.

17. Doug Clark - 40 years

Image Source/ Wikipedia

Clark was one of the two partners in the crime spree known as the "Sunset Strip Killings" which took place in Los Angeles during the summer of 1980 and resulted in the r*pe and m*rder of six women. His partner, Carol M. Bundy, passed while while incarcerated in the year 2003.

16. Ronald Allen Smith - 40 years

Image Source/ Murderpedia

Smith is the only Canadian to be sentenced to death in the United States, and he is one of only two people on death row in the state of Montana. During the time that they were under the influence of LSD, Smith and another guy were responsible for the m*rder of two Native American men who had offered to give them a ride.

15. Cesar Fierro - 39 years

Image Source/ KCBD

Fierro was a Mexican national apprehended in Ciudad Juarez for the m*rder of an El Paso cab driver, and he was subsequently convicted of the crime despite the fact that there was no physical evidence linking him to the case. Formally detained on Texas death row in Huntsville's facility. On December 19, 2019, his sentence was changed to life in prison without parole.

14. Thomas Eugene Creech - 40 years

Image Source/ Murderpedia

In 1981, while he was detained in the state of Idaho, Creech was found guilty of killing a fellow inmate and given the death penalty. Prior to this, Creech had been convicted of another m*rder and sentenced to death for that crime; however, the United States Supreme Court reversed his death sentence in 1977 following an appeal.

13. Douglas Stankewitz - 40 years

Image Source/ Davis Vanguard

The oldest person currently serving a term on death row in the state of California's San Quentin State Prison is a member of the Mono nation, Stankewitz, who was convicted of the kidnapping and m*rder of a woman. A second and third trial resulted in the same verdict: execution by hanging.

12. Albert Greenwood Brown - 41 years

Image Source/ Wikipedia

Brown was a convicted pedophile who kidnapped and m*rdered a 15-year-old girl while she was on her way to school while he was out on parole in California for abusing another girl. The execution of Brown was supposed to take place on September 30, 2010, however it was postponed because there was a shortage of dr*gs for the lethal injection procedure at the time.

11. Patrick McKenna - 41 years

Image Source/ Las Vegas Review

McKenna served a significant portion of his adult life behind bars for a variety of violent offences, and he was ultimately convicted of and sentenced to death for the m*rder of his cellmate, in 1980. He was eventually executed on April 19, 2021, 41 years later.

10. Arthur Lee Giles - 41 years

Image Source/ AL.com

Upon his conviction for the 1978 slayings of a married couple in Blount County, Alabama, Giles became the inmate on Alabama's death row with the longest remaining sentence. He was put to death on September 30, 2020, after 41 years and 43 days being on death row.

9. Arturo Daniel Aranda - 43 years

Image Source/ Chron

Aranda was convicted and sentenced to death for the m*rder of a Texan police officer on May 18, 1979. 43 years and 315 days later, Aranda still spends his days living in prison, awaiting his death by execution at the hands of the state. It's not certain when his time will come.

8. Clarence Curtis Jordan - 44 years

Image Source/ My Crime Library

Jordan was sentenced to death on September 12, 1978, after he violently m*rdered a Texan market clerk in an abhorrent episode. More than 44 years later, the American still waits to be executed for his awful crimes, with no execution date set at present.

7. Raymond Riles - 45 years

Image Source/ Chron

Riles is one of the prisoners on death row in Texas who has been there the longest. Since 1980, he has been granted a stay of execution for many reasons. After receiving a diagnosis of mental illness in subsequent years, he is no longer considered to be mentally competent to be put to death. On April 14, 2021, his conviction and death sentence were overturned.

6. Harvey Earvin - 45 years

Image Source/ CHron

Earvin is the person who has been on death row in Texas for the longest amount of time. In 1976, the offender was given a death sentence for the shooting death of a gas station attendant. His execution date is yet to be determined, 45 years and 150 days later.

5. James Franklin Rose - 45 years

Image Source/ Sun Sentinal

Rose is due to be executed by by lethal injection in the state of Florida for the m*rder of his ex-girlfriend's daughter, plus for the r*ping and killing of a lady in 1975. He was given a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2018.

4. Iwao Hakamada - 45 years

Image Source/ Time

After it was discovered that the evidence that was used to condemn him the first time around was falsified, Hakamanda was granted a new trial and found to be innocent of the charges in Japan. It didn't erase the previous 45 years he had spent on death row after his sentencing in 1968.

3. Richard Gerald Jordan - 46 years

Image Source/ GuffLive.com

A woman was kidnapped and then m*rdered in Mississippi, and the perpetrator, Jordan, was given the death penalty for his crimes. Jordan is the convict on Mississippi's execution row with the longest cumulative sentence of over 46 years, with no end in sight.

2. Virgil Delano Presnell Jr. - 46 years

Image Source/ New York Post

Presnell Jr. is the Georgian prisoner on death row with the longest cumulative sentence in the state. He is due to be executed by lethal injection for the kidnapping, r*ping, and killing of an eight-year-old child back in 1976, no execution date has been set.

1. Tommy Zeigler - 46 years

Image Source/ Wikipedia

Zeigler was sentenced on July 16, 1976, when Eunice Zeigler, Perry, Virginia Edwards, and Charlie Mays were all brutally m*rdered in a single incident. He is currently the longest person to be sat on death row in the world, with over 46 years behind him, and no execution date set.

And Now... The Most Dangerous Inmates On (And Off) Death Row: David Carpenter

image source: dailystar.co.uk

Also known as the Trailside Killer, David Carpenter is not only a serial killer but a serial rapist, sentenced to death row. His execution sentence was to see him die via gas chamber. He would stalk and murder people using hiking trails within state parks.

Randy Kraft

image source: dailystar.co.uk

Randy Kraft is known as the Scorecard Killer, currently on death row and still denying that he did anything wrong. He was convicted of murdering at least 16 young men, and is believed to have been responsible for the rape and murders of 51 others. He kept a coded list relating to his victims.

Gerald Parker

image source: dailystar.co.uk

Gerald Parker is a serial killer known as 'Bedroom Basher' relating to his series of sex-related murders. He's responsible for the rape and murder of five women, and a sixth victim who survived tragically lost her unborn child due to his crimes. He's sentenced to death by lethal injection.

Cary Stayner

image source: dailystar.co.uk

Known as the Yosemite Park killer, Stayner has been sentenced to death for the murder of four women. He was working as a motel handyman when he committed his murders, and even tried to claim insanity but was found to be sane and then sentenced to death for his crimes.

Rory Enrique Conde

image source: dailystar.co.uk

Known as the Tamiami Trail Strangler, Conde is a serial killer responsible for not only killing six people, but having sex with their corpse afterwards. He focused on prostitutes, who he strangled to death. He is currently on Florida death row after being sentenced in 2000.

Paul Durousseau

image source: dailystar.co.uk

Known as the Jacksonville Strangler, Paul Durousseau is an American serial killer on death row for murdering seven young women. Two of the women were pregnant. He raped and strangled most of his victims, before returning to his seemingly normal life with his wife and two daughters.

Charles Ng

image source: uniondemocrat.com

This former US marine was responsible - along with his accomplice - of kidnapping, raping and murdering up to 25 people in a remote cabin in the woods. He committed the crimes after being dishonorably discharged from the marines. The Hong Kong- born killer was sentenced to death row.

Lisa M Montgomery

image source: simplewikipedia.org

Montgomery has actually only committed one murder - and while one is horrific enough, it might be surprising compared to some on this list. But the manner of the murder is what makes it more evil. Montgomery posed as a pregnant woman on an internet chatroom and met up with a mother-to-be in real life - where she proceeded to cut her open and steal her unborn baby. She was executed in 2021.

Bobby Joe Long

image source: cnn.com

Long was convicted of at least 10 murders, and at least 50 rapes. This American serial killer was executed in 2019 after being sentenced to death row, which he spent 31 years on. He targeted sex workers, and over an 8 month period was averaging around 1 murder a week.

Rodney Alcala

image source: abcnews.com

Alcala died in 2021 after being sentenced to death row, but he actually died from natural causes whilst waiting for his execution. He was believed to have been responsible for up to 130 rapes and murders. He was also known as the 'Game Show Killer' due to his strange appearance on a TV dating show.