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The Man Who Almost Died Eight Times | Dayton News
Francis Clifford Smith, once believed to be America’s oldest inmate, died peacefully at 101 after spending over 70 years behind bars — narrowly escaping the electric chair eight times. Convicted in 1950 for a 1949 murder he swore he didn’t commit, Smith’s death sentence was commuted to life in 1954. He briefly escaped in 1967 but was caught 12 days later, and after a parole violation in 1975, he returned to prison — only to be granted supervised parole again in 2020, moving to a nursing home where he spent his final years before passing away quietly, cremated. Listen in comfort:Get a discount…
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