Oldest US inmate who was served his ‘last meal’ eight times dies after 76 years behind bars

Francis Clifford Smith spent more than 70 years in custody after being convicted of murder back in 1950 (Pictures: Connecticut Dept of Corrections/Google) Francis Clifford Smith was given what was supposed to be his last meal an extraordinary eight times during his decades in custody. Each time his execution approached, it was called off. Smith spent 76 years under sentence and more than 70 of them behind bars. He died aged 101 while still maintaining his innocence. Smith was believed to be both America’s oldest inmate and its longest-serving prisoner. He died in his sleep on June 25 at 60 West, a secure Connecticut nursing facility caring for elderly people involved in the justice system. He was just 25 when he was sentenced to death for the murder of night watchman Grover Hart, a 68-year