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 |
| Richard Phillips | 45 years, 2 months, 9 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Isaiah Andrews | 45 years, 1 months, 25 days | Life | - | Ohio |
| Wilbert Jones | 44 years, 9 months, 9 days | Life | - | Louisiana |
| Vincent Simmons | 44 years, 6 months, 18 days | Life | - | Louisiana |
| Willie Williams | 44 years, 4 months, 13 days | Life | - | Florida |
| Marvin Grimm | 44 years, 0 months, 19 days | Life | - | Virginia |
| Ronnie Long | 43 years, 10 months, 26 days | Life | - | North Carolina |
| Sandra Hemme | 43 years, 3 months, 8 days | Life without parole | - | Missouri |
| Charles Finch | 42 years, 10 months, 21 days | Death | - | North Carolina |
| Kevin Strickland | 42 years, 6 months, 29 days | Life | - | Missouri |
| 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 |
| Ledura Watkins | 41 years, 2 months, 30 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| 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, 19 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Gregory Holden | 40 years, 8 months, 11 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Raymond Champagne | 40 years, 5 months, 25 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Bruce Murray | 40 years, 3 months, 3 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Gerald Howell | 39 years, 8 months, 23 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Jerry Davis | 39 years, 6 months, 8 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Kelvin Fuller | 39 years, 6 months, 4 days | Term of Years | - | California |
| Terry Talley | 39 years, 3 months, 14 days | Life | - | Georgia |
| Ricky Jackson | 39 years, 3 months, 8 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| James Watson | 38 years, 7 months, 27 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Elmer Daniels | 38 years, 6 months, 22 days | Life | - | Delaware |
| Robert Carroll Coney | 38 years, 4 months, 23 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Willie Womble | 38 years, 3 months, 10 days | Term of Years | - | North Carolina |
| Walter Lomax | 38 years, 2 months, 24 days | Life | - | Maryland |
| Craig Coley | 37 years, 10 months, 20 days | Life without parole | - | California |
| Walter Forbes | 37 years, 6 months, 9 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Raymond Flanks | 37 years, 6 months, 3 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Willie Stokes | 37 years, 4 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Michael Rhynes | 37 years, 4 months, 4 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Wiley Bridgeman | 37 years, 4 months, 4 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| Harold Staten | 37 years, 3 months, 29 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Malcolm Alexander | 37 years, 2 months, 25 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Charles Coleman | 37 years, 1 months, 23 days | Life | - | Connecticut |
| Paul Clark | 36 years, 6 months, 5 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Joseph Sledge | 36 years, 4 months, 23 days | Life | - | North Carolina |
| Frederick Clay | 35 years, 11 months, 20 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Archie Williams | 35 years, 11 months, 0 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| James Haley | 35 years, 10 months, 16 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Fred Weichel | 35 years, 8 months, 5 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Samuel Bonner | 35 years, 8 months, 1 days | Life without parole | - | California |
| James Bain | 35 years, 6 months, 25 days | Life | - | Florida |