While the average time spent in prison for all of the exonerees in the National Registry of Exonerations is just over nine years, there have been some prisoners who spent an extraordinary amount of time imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. The Registry calculates prison time from the date of conviction. Therefore, our calculations exclude time spent incarcerated prior to conviction. The following is a list of the exonerees who spent at least 25 years in prison prior to exoneration.
| Name | Time Incarcerated | Sentence | Incarcerated | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glynn Simmons | 48 years, 1 months, 17 days | Death | - | Oklahoma |
| Anthony Mazza | 47 years, 2 months, 0 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Ricky Webb | 45 years, 11 months, 11 days | Life without parole | - | Tennessee |
| Vincent Simmons | 44 years, 6 months, 18 days | Term of Years | - | Louisiana |
| Isaiah Andrews | 45 years, 1 months, 25 days | Life | - | Ohio |
| Wilbert Jones | 44 years, 9 months, 7 days | Life | - | Louisiana |
| Richard Phillips | 45 years, 2 months, 9 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Marvin Grimm | 44 years, 0 months, 19 days | Life | - | Virginia |
| Willie Williams | 44 years, 4 months, 13 days | Life | - | Florida |
| Ronnie Long | 43 years, 10 months, 24 days | Life | - | North Carolina |
| Sandra Hemme | 43 years, 3 months, 9 days | Life without parole | - | Missouri |
| Kevin Strickland | 42 years, 6 months, 29 days | Life | - | Missouri |
| Charles Finch | 42 years, 10 months, 20 days | Death | - | North Carolina |
| Hubert Myers | 42 years, 6 months, 24 days | Life | - | Florida |
| Clifford Williams | 42 years, 6 months, 24 days | Death | - | Florida |
| Elvis Brooks | 42 years, 0 months, 24 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Gregory Holden | 40 years, 8 months, 12 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| David Ayala | 41 years, 2 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Illinois |
| James Soto | 41 years, 2 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Illinois |
| David Bryant | 40 years, 8 months, 20 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Ledura Watkins | 41 years, 3 months, 0 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Kelvin Fuller | 39 years, 6 months, 4 days | Term of Years | - | California |
| Jerry Davis | 39 years, 6 months, 8 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Bruce Murray | 40 years, 3 months, 4 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Gerald Howell | 39 years, 8 months, 24 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Raymond Champagne | 40 years, 5 months, 25 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Terry Talley | 39 years, 3 months, 15 days | Life | - | Georgia |
| James Watson | 38 years, 7 months, 27 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Elmer Daniels | 38 years, 6 months, 22 days | Life | - | Delaware |
| Ricky Jackson | 39 years, 3 months, 9 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| Raymond Flanks | 37 years, 6 months, 3 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Walter Forbes | 37 years, 6 months, 9 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Craig Coley | 37 years, 10 months, 18 days | Life without parole | - | California |
| Willie Womble | 38 years, 3 months, 11 days | Term of Years | - | North Carolina |
| Walter Lomax | 38 years, 2 months, 24 days | Life | - | Maryland |
| Robert Carroll Coney | 38 years, 4 months, 23 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Paul Clark | 36 years, 6 months, 5 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Charles Coleman | 37 years, 1 months, 23 days | Term of Years | - | Connecticut |
| Harold Staten | 37 years, 3 months, 30 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Michael Rhynes | 37 years, 4 months, 4 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Willie Stokes | 37 years, 4 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Malcolm Alexander | 37 years, 2 months, 25 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Wiley Bridgeman | 37 years, 4 months, 4 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| Samuel Bonner | 35 years, 8 months, 2 days | Life without parole | - | California |
| Archie Williams | 35 years, 11 months, 0 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Frederick Clay | 35 years, 11 months, 20 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Fred Weichel | 35 years, 8 months, 6 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Joseph Sledge | 36 years, 4 months, 23 days | Life | - | North Carolina |
| James Haley | 35 years, 10 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| James Bain | 35 years, 6 months, 25 days | Life | - | Florida |