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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Foxworth | 26 years, 4 months, 27 days | Life | - | Massachusetts |
| Robert Fenenbock | 25 years, 6 months, 24 days | Term of Years | - | California |
| Bernard Howard | 25 years, 7 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Emmanuelle Cooper | 26 years, 2 months, 4 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| John Brown | 26 years, 1 months, 1 days | Life | - | Arkansas |
| Tina Jimerson | 26 years, 2 months, 7 days | Life | - | Arkansas |
| Ronnie Qualls | 25 years, 10 months, 25 days | Life | - | Massachusetts |
| Keith Walker | 25 years, 8 months, 5 days | Life without parole | - | Illinois |
| Ersan Yurtman | 26 years, 4 months, 22 days | Term of Years | - | Texas |
| Theophalis Wilson | 26 years, 5 months, 15 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Chester Hollman | 26 years, 2 months, 11 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Michael Sullivan | 25 years, 9 months, 16 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Valentino Dixon | 26 years, 3 months, 8 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Timmy Duke | 25 years, 8 months, 23 days | Term of Years | - | Texas |
| Johnny Tall Bear | 26 years, 3 months, 1 days | Life without parole | - | Oklahoma |
| Jimmie Gardner | 26 years, 1 months, 30 days | Term of Years | - | West Virginia |
| Shabaka Shakur | 26 years, 3 months, 18 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Robert Hill | 25 years, 9 months, 29 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Mark Schand | 25 years, 10 months, 13 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| David Lee Gavitt | 26 years, 2 months, 21 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Raymond Jackson | 26 years, 5 months, 3 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Billy Frederick Allen | 25 years, 6 months, 0 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Charles Chatman | 26 years, 4 months, 21 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Paul Terry | 26 years, 0 months, 26 days | Life | - | Illinois |
| Walter Swift | 25 years, 6 months, 10 days | Term of Years | - | Michigan |
| Alton Logan | 25 years, 9 months, 18 days | Life | - | Illinois |
| Gary Lamar James | 26 years, 4 months, 5 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| Timothy Howard | 26 years, 0 months, 14 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| Dewey Bozella | 25 years, 10 months, 24 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| James Montgomery | 25 years, 7 months, 1 days | Life | - | |
| Billy Holton | 24 years, 11 months, 20 days | Life without parole | - | Florida |
| Garland Martin | 24 years, 10 months, 10 days | Life | - | Texas |
| George Gould | 24 years, 10 months, 26 days | Term of Years | - | Connecticut |
| Maceo Streater | 24 years, 10 months, 3 days | Term of Years | - | Connecticut |
| Fabian Santiago | 25 years, 3 months, 27 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Tyrone Day | 24 years, 11 months, 4 days | Term of Years | - | Texas |
| A.G. Hall | 24 years, 10 months, 12 days | Term of Years | - | Maryland |
| Martin Santillan | 24 years, 9 months, 9 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Darrell Clark | 24 years, 10 months, 17 days | Life | - | Georgia |
| Roosevelt Myles | 24 years, 6 months, 9 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Anthony Kyles | 24 years, 11 months, 26 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Rodolfo Taylor | 24 years, 7 months, 16 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Jaythan Kendrick | 25 years, 1 months, 22 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Lacino Hamilton | 24 years, 11 months, 1 days | Term of Years | - | Michigan |
| Arturo Jimenez | 24 years, 11 months, 8 days | Term of Years | - | California |
| Ramon Ward | 25 years, 0 months, 25 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Delmar Partin | 25 years, 3 months, 16 days | Life | - | Kentucky |
| Richard Kussmaul | 24 years, 10 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Texas |
| Carlos Weeks | 24 years, 7 months, 2 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Derrick Sanders | 25 years, 0 months, 6 days | Term of Years | - | Wisconsin |