The Century Behind Bars | San Antonio News

San Antonio News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 20, 2026 · 1m

Francis Clifford Smith, once thought to be the oldest inmate in U.S. history, died peacefully at 101 after spending over 70 years behind bars — and dodging execution eight times. Convicted of murder in 1950 at age 25, he always insisted he was innocent. His death sentence was commuted to life in 1954, and though he escaped once in 1967, he was recaptured within days. After parole in 1975 — only to be returned for violating terms — he finally embraced supervised release in 2020, living out his final years in a nursing facility before being cremated. A century-long journey through America’s…