Paul Geidel (April 21, 1894 - May, 1987) was
the longest serving American prison inmate whose sentence ended with
his release. After being convicted of second-degree murder in 1911,
Geidel served 68 years and 245 days in various New York state prisons.
He was released on May 7, 1980, at the age of 86.
Early life and Murder
Born in Hartford, Connecticut to an alcoholic
saloon keeper who died when Geidel was 5, the boy spent much of his
childhood in an orphanage. He dropped out of school at the age of 14
and worked in a series of menial jobs in Hartford and New York City
hotels.
On July 26, 1911, Geidel decided to rob William H.
Jackson, a wealthy broker, who was a guest at the Iroquois Hotel on
West 44th Street in New York City where Geidel was working at the
Iroquois as a bellhop. Geidel sneaked into Jackson's room, and
suffocated him to death with a rag filled with chloroform. Geidel only
made off with a few dollars.
Two days later, Geidel was arrested. He was
subsequently convicted of second-degree murder and sent to prison for
20 years to life.
Imprisonment
Geidel began his sentence at the Sing Sing prison.
His sentence was shortened due to good behavior and he was nearing a
possible parole hearing, but doctors then found Geidel to be legally
insane in 1926. He was then moved to the Dannemora State Hospital for
the Criminal Insane, where he was confined until 1972. He was then
moved to the Fishkill Correctional Facility. Here Geidel lived in a
unit designed for elderly inmates that more resembled a dormitory,
rather than a prison.
As Geidel's tenure in prison went by, he developed
a rapport with prison officials, who sometimes took the old man out to
a baseball game, or other outing.
Geidel was granted parole in August 1974, but the
now 80 year old inmate did not want to leave. Having lived in prison
for 63 years--his entire adult life--and having no family, he believed
that he would not make it on the outside. He chose to remain in prison
for almost six more years.
Release
On May 7, 1980, Geidel left Fishkill, having served
the longest prison sentence in American history. "No publicity please,"
Geidel said with a smile to reporters as he was leaving the facility.
He is believed to have lived out the remainder of his days in a
Dutchess County nursing home.
