This is a list of longest prison sentences ever given to a single person, worldwide.

There are a few moments in legal history where certain perpetrators of the law have received sentences much longer than a life sentence. Although a sentence longer than the criminal’s life span is not feasible from a practical point of view.

Longest prison sentences

Name Sentence start Sentence term Country Description
Gabriel March Grandos 1972 384,912 years  Spain In 1972, a 22 year old, Gabriel March Grandos from Palma de Mallorca was demanded to 384,912 years of sentence for having failed to deliver 42,768 letters.

He was accused of fraud[1] for his crime of not delivering the letters resulting in such a huge punishment by the Spanish judiciary. This remains the longest sentence demanded so far in history.[2][3]

According to another source, this sentence was requested by the prosecutor, while actually he was sentenced only to 14 years and 2 month of imprisonment.[4]

Dudley Wayne Kyzer 1972 10,000 years  United States In 1981, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama,[5] for having brutally killed his wife, Dudley Wayne Kyzer was sentenced to imprisonment for 10,000 years. This remains the longest sentence given in the United States till date. Kyzer was convicted of killing his estranged wife, Diane Kyzer, his mother-in-law, Eunice Barringer, and college student Rick Pyron who just happened to be at the Barringer home on Halloween in 1976.

He was also given life sentences for each of the crimes in addition to the 10,000 years. The judge justified his verdict in the name of the brutality of the murders. He has been denied parole 9 times. He will be eligible for another parole hearing in 2015.[2]

The court decided that the brutality, with which he had slaughtered his spouse, more than merited such a long sentence.[5][3] In 2004, he was denied parole.[6]

Charles Scott Robinson 1994 30,000 years  United States In 1994, Oklahoma child rapist Charles Scott Robinson received the longest jail term to a single person on multiple counts. Robinson received a sentence of 30,000 years -- 5,000 for each of the six counts against him.[7]
Bobbie Joe Long 1984 28 life sentences  United States Bobbie Joe Long from Florida is a serial killer guilty of raping more than fifty women and killing more than twenty-five of them. He was sentenced with 28 life sentences, additional 99 years of imprisonment and a death sentence.[4]

He had raped more than 50 women and killed about half the number. In most cases they were raped before murder. He attended an underwater welding course and answered classified ads for small appliances, and if he found a woman alone at home, he would rape her. He was born with an extra x chromosome which resulted in him growing breasts after puberty. With this, the added trauma of the dysfunctional relation he had with his mother as an adolescent is often remarked as the reason for his crimes.[2][3]

Juan Corona 1973 25 life sentences  United States In 1973, in the state of California, the Mexican American serial killer Juan Corona murdered 25 farm workers who worked for him. In a span of one year, between 1970 and 1971, he had killed 25 migrant workers who worked for him and had their remains buried. For this act that questioned human nature, he got sentenced for 25 consecutive life imprisonments for every 25 life he took.[2]
Two Iranian men 1969 7,109 years  Iran in 1969, in the Middle East, two Iranian conmen were sentenced 7,109 years of imprisonment for committing what others call unthinkable crime.[4] The number of years was proportional to the amount of their transgressions,[3] one year for each of their transgressions.[8]

The punishment was mete out to remind Iranians of the strength and seriousness of their laws.[4]

Darron Bennalford Anderson 1994 8,500 years  United States “The greatest amount of jail time given as a result of an appeal” went to Darron Bennalford Anderson from Oklahoma, who was found guilty in 1994 of crimes ranging from rape, to kidnapping, larceny, robbery and kidnapping and sentenced to 2,200 years. He appealed, was reconvicted, re-sentenced and received an additional jail term of 9,000 years, later reduced by 500 years. He is reportedly due for release in the year 12,744.[2]

Anderson’s original sentence was 2,200 years, his appeal resulted in a further 6,300 years being added to his sentence.[7] In 1997, when he appealed again, he got the parole date for the year 12,744 AD.[3]

Shalom Weiss 2000 845 years  United States In 2000, Shalom Weiss was found guilty for his participation in the bankruptcy of National Heritage Life Insurance Corporation of New York. After robbing investors of their money and featuring in the FBI most wanted list, he was caught and was sentenced for 845 years. He appealed for a lesser punishment but was denied.[4][3]
Mark Anthony Beecham 2012 624 years  United States On August 14, 2012, 25-year-old Mark Anthony Beecham was given 99 years each for six counts, which included first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree rape and three counts of first-degree sodomy -- plus 20 years for felony first-degree theft of property and 10 more for felony first-degree bail jumping.[7]
Norman Schmidt 2008 330 years  United States Norman Schmidt promised attractive high rates to hundreds of investors and robbed them of millions of dollars. He used this money to cover personal expenses and to lead a life of luxury instead of investing as he promised.[3]

In 2008, US District Judge Denny Chin found Schmidt guilty of fraud and money laundering. For this offense, he has been sentenced to 330 years of imprisonment.[4]

Jeffrey Kollie and Ryan Brandt 1996 7 consecutive life sentences  United States In 1996, Georgian Jeffrey Kollie and Ryan Brandt were both sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences and 265 years each for committing armed robbery. The sentence was the longest in the entire history of Georgia. If they accepted a plea of not guilty that could have given them only a 40 year prison sentence.[4][3]
Keith O Wood 2008 160 years  United States A native of Pittsburg, Keith O Wood was found guilty of raping five women in a year from 2000 to 2001 and was sentenced to 160 years in prison.[4] The convict would enter the house through unlocked windows and threaten them to be killed and then rape them.[3]

Even when the DNA evidence proved him guilty in all the five cases he appealed of being not guilty. However, the court judged against him taking fact that the chance of someone else matching the DNA is one in a billion, billion.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nixon, David (June 28, 2013). "The 6 Longest Prison Sentences Ever Given". Insider Monkey. p. 6. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Outrageous Prison Terms Given to People". Know-Q-Out. July 25, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "10 of the Longest Prison Sentences on Earth". Top Cultured. January 1, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "10 Longest Prison Sentences". Inmate County Jail.com. May 15, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b Nixon, David (June 28, 2013). "The 6 Longest Prison Sentences Ever Given". Insider Monkey. p. 5. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Parole possible for longest sentenced prisoner". The Gadsden Times. August 1, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ a b c Hubbard, Amy (August 15, 2012). "Top 10 Longest Prison Sentences in the World". Los Angeles: Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Nixon, David (June 28, 2013). "The 6 Longest Prison Sentences Ever Given". Insider Monkey. p. 2. Retrieved November 1, 2013. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)


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