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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valentino Dixon | 26 years, 3 months, 7 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Johnny Tall Bear | 26 years, 3 months, 0 days | Life without parole | - | Oklahoma |
| David Lee Gavitt | 26 years, 2 months, 21 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Chester Hollman | 26 years, 2 months, 11 days | Life without parole | - | Pennsylvania |
| Larry Smith | 26 years, 2 months, 7 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| Tina Jimerson | 26 years, 2 months, 7 days | Life | - | Arkansas |
| Emmanuelle Cooper | 26 years, 2 months, 4 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Jimmie Gardner | 26 years, 1 months, 30 days | Term of Years | - | West Virginia |
| John Brown | 26 years, 1 months, 1 days | Life | - | Arkansas |
| Paul Terry | 26 years, 0 months, 26 days | Life | - | Illinois |
| Timothy Howard | 26 years, 0 months, 14 days | Death | - | Ohio |
| James Lucien | 26 years, 0 months, 10 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Louis Robinson | 25 years, 11 months, 15 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Calvin Duncan | 25 years, 11 months, 9 days | Life without parole | - | Louisiana |
| Edward Ramirez | 25 years, 10 months, 28 days | Life | - | Pennsylvania |
| Ronnie Qualls | 25 years, 10 months, 27 days | Life | - | Massachusetts |
| Dewey Bozella | 25 years, 10 months, 26 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| David Wright | 25 years, 10 months, 16 days | Life without parole | - | Illinois |
| Mark Schand | 25 years, 10 months, 15 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| Robert Hill | 25 years, 10 months, 0 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Alton Logan | 25 years, 9 months, 20 days | Life | - | Illinois |
| David Owens | 25 years, 9 months, 19 days | Term of Years | - | Michigan |
| Dave Anthony Gardine | 25 years, 9 months, 18 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Michael Sullivan | 25 years, 9 months, 18 days | Life without parole | - | Massachusetts |
| James Irons | 25 years, 8 months, 26 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Jabar Walker | 25 years, 8 months, 22 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Timmy Duke | 25 years, 8 months, 22 days | Term of Years | - | Texas |
| Carlos Andino | 25 years, 8 months, 16 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Keith Walker | 25 years, 8 months, 4 days | Life without parole | - | Illinois |
| Thomas Malik | 25 years, 7 months, 16 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Bernard Howard | 25 years, 7 months, 14 days | Life without parole | - | Michigan |
| James Montgomery | 25 years, 7 months, 1 days | Life | - | Illinois |
| Robert Fenenbock | 25 years, 6 months, 24 days | Term of Years | - | California |
| Walter Swift | 25 years, 6 months, 10 days | Term of Years | - | Michigan |
| Billy Frederick Allen | 25 years, 6 months, 0 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Johnnie Lindsey | 25 years, 5 months, 27 days | Life | - | Texas |
| Larry Hudson | 25 years, 5 months, 22 days | Death | - | Louisiana |
| John Duval | 25 years, 5 months, 14 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Gregory Counts | 25 years, 4 months, 29 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Curtis McGhee | 25 years, 4 months, 21 days | Life | - | Iowa |
| Fabian Santiago | 25 years, 3 months, 26 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| Delmar Partin | 25 years, 3 months, 15 days | Life | - | Kentucky |
| Luis Diaz | 25 years, 2 months, 25 days | Life | - | Florida |
| Edward Baker | 25 years, 2 months, 17 days | Life | - | Pennsylvania |
| Hicks Elliff | 25 years, 2 months, 12 days | Term of Years | - | Texas |
| Jaythan Kendrick | 25 years, 1 months, 22 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Daniel Andersen | 25 years, 1 months, 17 days | Term of Years | - | Illinois |
| William Fisher | 25 years, 1 months, 11 days | Term of Years | - | New York |
| Anthony Caravella | 25 years, 1 months, 8 days | Life | - | Florida |
| Dominic Lucci | 25 years, 1 months, 1 days | Life | - | Georgia |