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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marilyn Mulero | 26 years, 6 months, 12 days | Death | - | Illinois |
| Joyce Watkins | 27 years, 2 months, 9 days | Life | - | Tennessee |
| Eddie Lee Howard | 26 years, 6 months, 24 days | Death | - | Mississippi |
| Gerard Domond | 27 years, 5 months, 9 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Felipe Rodriguez | 26 years, 8 months, 26 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Willie Veasy | 26 years, 7 months, 18 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Charles Jackson | 26 years, 11 months, 12 days | Term of Years | - | Ohio |
| Clarence Shipley | 26 years, 6 months, 6 days | Life | - | Maryland |
| Richard Beranek | 27 years, 4 months, 12 days | Term of Years | - | Wisconsin |
| Kevin Bailey | 27 years, 3 months, 13 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Bernard Young | 27 years, 5 months, 25 days | Term of Years | - | Michigan |
| William Virgil | 27 years, 2 months, 2 days | Term of Years | - | Kentucky |
| Jules Letemps | 26 years, 10 months, 19 days | Life | - | Florida |
| Johnny Small | 27 years, 4 months, 4 days | Life | - | North Carolina |
| Edward McInnis | 26 years, 10 months, 13 days | Life | - | North Carolina |
| Kwame Ajamu | 27 years, 4 months, 0 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| Cleveland Wright | 27 years, 3 months, 15 days | Term of Years | - | District of Columbia |
| Frank O'Connell | 27 years, 3 months, 5 days | Term of Years | - | California |
| James Curtis Williams | 27 years, 5 months, 2 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Thomas Haynesworth | 26 years, 8 months, 2 days | Term of Years | - | Virginia |
| James Lee Woodard | 26 years, 11 months, 10 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Earl Truvia | 26 years, 10 months, 2 days | Life | - | Louisiana |
| Johnny Pinchback | 26 years, 7 months, 5 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Louis Greco | 27 years, 4 months, 29 days | Death | - | Massachusetts |
| Larry Gillard | 27 years, 3 months, 23 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Michael Anthony Green | 27 years, 1 months, 0 days | Term of Years | - | Texas |
| Donald Eugene Gates | 27 years, 2 months, 29 days | Term of Years | - | District of Columbia |
| Michael Evans | 26 years, 11 months, 5 days | Life | - | Illinois |
| William Dillon | 26 years, 11 months, 15 days | Life | - | Florida |
| Gregory Bright | 26 years, 10 months, 23 days | Life | - | Louisiana |
| Michael Austin | 26 years, 9 months, 2 days | Life | - | Maryland |
| Maude Storick | 26 years, 7 months, 9 days | Life | - | Michigan |
| Eric Misch | 26 years, 4 months, 14 days | Term of Years | - | Ohio |
| Edward Ramirez | 25 years, 10 months, 26 days | Life | - | Pennsylvania |
| Dave Anthony Gardine | 25 years, 9 months, 16 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Jabar Walker | 25 years, 8 months, 23 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Louis Robinson | 25 years, 11 months, 15 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| David Wright | 25 years, 10 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Illinois |
| Calvin Duncan | 25 years, 11 months, 9 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Carlos Andino | 25 years, 8 months, 17 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Thomas Malik | 25 years, 7 months, 16 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| James Irons | 25 years, 8 months, 27 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Jose Cruz | 26 years, 5 months, 11 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Kuantau Reeder | 26 years, 4 months, 25 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Charlie Dunn | 26 years, 5 months, 7 days | Life | - | Tennessee |
| James Lucien | 26 years, 0 months, 10 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| David Owens | 25 years, 9 months, 17 days | Term of Years | - | Michigan |
| Sherwood Brown | 26 years, 4 months, 28 days | Death | - | Mississippi |
| Joseph Carter | 26 years, 4 months, 9 days | Life | - | Virginia |
| Larry Smith | 26 years, 2 months, 7 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |