In this article we will talk about 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world. Prison is a facility used to house people who have been remanded (kept) in custody by the legal system or who have had their freedom taken away from them after being found guilty of a crime. A felony or misdemeanor conviction may result in a jail sentence for the offender.
In modern jails, housing accused individuals awaiting trial continues to be a crucial role; in many nations, this group makes up the bulk of inmates. For instance, in the UK, around one-fifth of inmates are either not found guilty or have not received a sentence, but in India, pretrial prisoners make up more than two thirds of those incarcerated.
Longest Prison Sentence in the World
There are several legitimate justifications for the use of incarceration. One strategy is to prevent people from committing crimes in the first place (universal deterrence) and to reduce the likelihood that incarcerated individuals would commit crimes following their release (individual deterrence). A second strategy concentrates on punishing or exacting revenge on those who have committed major offences. A third strategy supports inmates’ efforts to change on a personal level. Lastly, there are situations when it becomes imperative to defend the public against criminals, especially those who perpetrate crimes on a regular basis. Any one or all of these arguments may hold true in certain situations.
The United States Sentencing Commission made the decision to investigate the impact of incarceration on recidivism after gaining access to vast volumes of data on thousands of federal criminal offenders over several decades. The panel decided to examine 32,135 federal criminal prisoners who were freed in 2010. Based on the duration of their sentences, the research separated the offenders into five groups: 24–36 months, 36–48 months, 48–60 months, 60–120 months, and more than 120 months.
During an eight-year follow-up phase, the commission then looked into which of the freed offenders had committed new offences. The outcomes were striking. The likelihood of recidivism was 18% lower for offenders serving sentences longer than 60 months (five years) compared to a similar group of inmates serving shorter terms. Recidivism rates were 29% lower for offenders serving terms exceeding 120 months, or ten years. These results demonstrated great dependability at a statistically significant p-value of less than 0.001. There was no discernible statistical variation in recidivism among defendants serving fewer than 60 months.
Strict jail terms are crucial in deterring offenders from committing new crimes. When experts discuss how the certainty, promptness, and harshness of punishments serve as the foundation for deterrence. 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world have a far higher probability of effectiveness, but comparatively short penalties of less than 60 months don’t do much to discourage convicts from committing crimes again, as even the commission’s report revealed.
What’s the point of sentencing anyone to 1000 years or more in prison?
When a straightforward sentence of “life without parole” will accomplish the same goal, why send someone to prison for hundreds or even thousands of years? While sentencing guidelines differ globally, in the US, a person may be compelled to spend disproportionately long jail terms if they are found guilty of many offences committed by the same individual. Sentences that span millennia are not a peculiarly American phenomenon.
A guy from the Spanish island of Majorca appears to have been the target of the harshest 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world ever requested in 1972. After serving as a postman in Palma, the island’s capital, Gabriel March Granados eventually realized he was no longer interested in delivering mail.
Granados was only 22 years old, therefore it’s remarkable that he was unable to deliver 42,768 letters, according to the few accounts of the trial. Instead, he decided to check the mail and take anything of value. The prosecution requested that he serve nine years for each letter that was not delivered, for a total of an astounding 384,912 years in jail. The point is that in the end, these multi-generational statements are for properly recognizing the harmed parties—and ensuring that the penalty corresponds with the numerous offences.
Methodology
This article enlisted the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world. Thorough research has been conducted from various reliable sources. We collected the data on various aspects such as the number of years, type of crime, place of crime and the year in which the sentence was placed. We have ranked these 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world in the descending order on the basis of the years of the sentence.
20 Longest Prison Sentences Ever Given in the World
20 Longest Prison Sentences Ever Given in the World
20- Bobby Joe Long
- Length: 28 life sentences, 99 years, and the death penalty
Year Sentenced: 1985
Location: USA
Type of Crime: Murder and Sexual Assault
In 1984, Obert Joseph Long went on an eight-year serial murdering rampage that terrified the whole Tampa Bay area in Florida. He abducted, molested, and killed at least ten women; Lisa McVey was one of them; he later freed her. McVey was instrumental in supplying the information needed to finally locate Long and prosecute him. In May 2019, two of Long’s victims—including Lisa McVey Noland, who was only 17 at the time of her kidnapping and abuse—saw him put to death. This sentence was considered as one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world
19- Ariel Castro
- Length: 1 life sentence plus 1,000 years
- Year sentenced: 2013
- Location: USA
- Type of crime: sexual abuse and kidnapping
Castro was accused of three rape offences and four counts of abduction. As part of a plea agreement, he admitted guilt to 937 felony charges of aggravated murder, abduction, and rape. He received a sentence of 1,000 years in jail without the possibility of release in addition to life in prison. Castro, 53, was declared dead after being discovered hanging from a bedsheet one month into his life sentence. This sentence was reflected as one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world. Although more evidence points to the possibility that his death was caused by an error in auto-erotic asphyxiation, his death was officially ruled a suicide.
18- Miguel Krassnof
- Length: 1,007 years
- Year sentenced: 2023
- Location: Chile republic
- Type of crime: kidnapping and torture
One of the army officials in charge of setting up and running Villa Grimaldi, the prison camp where Chilean nationals were tortured under the Pinochet dictatorship, was Krasnoff. In the accounts of Luz Arce, who was tortured and imprisoned in Villa Grimaldi before joining the government as a collaborator, he is mentioned many times. Krassnoff was found guilty on more than 20 charges of crimes against humanity in 2006 and given a 144-year jail term. He was also given a 10-year jail term in 2016 for José Ramírez Rosales’ 1974 kidnapping. He is also on our list of 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world.
17- Martin Bryant
- Length: 1,035 years and 35 life sentences
Year Sentenced: 1996
Location: Australia
Type of Crime: Mass Murder
Martin Bryant, on our list of 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world committed one of the bloodiest shootings in history, leaving 35 people dead and 23 wounded. The majority of the killings during his shooting rampage became known as the Port Arthur Massacre. Bryant received an unconscionably lengthy jail term without the chance of release for his misdeeds
16- Billy Joe Godfrey
- Length: 1,050 years or 35 life sentences
Year Sentenced: 2015
Location: USA
Type of Crime: Child Abuse
Between 1995 and 1999, Billy Joe Godfrey engaged in horrifying sexual activities on two children, ages eight and thirteen. Prosecutor Brendon Fox described Godfrey’s guilty plea as one of the worst instances he had ever encountered. Godfrey requested to be allowed to pass away outside of jail, but he was turned down. Godfrey vowed never to breathe free air again as Judge Ronald White handed down the verdict. It is considered one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world
15- Abdulkadir Masharipov
- Length: 40 life sentences plus 1,368 years
- Year sentenced: 2020
- Location: turkey
- Type of crime: shooting in night club
Uzbek native, on our list of 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world, Abdulkadir Masharipov was sentenced to 1,368 years in addition to 40 life terms for carrying out the 2017 nightclub shooting in Istanbul. A Turkish court sentenced Masharipov to life in prison and an extra 1,368 years in jail in September 2020 for the murders of 39 persons and the injuries of 79 others.
He asked to be cleared in his most recent evidence, claiming that he had been subjected to “torture and pressure” when making his initial claims. He claimed that the evidence against him was insufficient. He is expected to file an appeal of the decision.
14- Rene Lopez
- Length: 1,503 years
Year Sentenced: 2017
Location: USA
Type of Crime: Child Abuse
Rene Lopez makes up our list 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world, received the longest jail term in Fresno Superior Court history for four years of sexually assaulting his daughter. After one of his pals mistreated her first, Lopez exacerbated the trauma rather than shielding her. Additionally, he denied any regret for his actions and blamed her for them, which is why Judge Edward Sarkisian Jr. called him a “serious danger to society.”
13- Berry walker
- Length: 39 life sentences plus 1,710 years without parole
- Year sentenced: 2022
- Location: USA
- Type of crime: sexual assault
Former doctor who practiced medicine in Arkansas and serial rapist. Accepted the maximum punishment after entering a guilty plea for the rape of at least 31 young children between the years of 1997 and 2022. It is also on the “20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world” list.
12- Michael J. Delvin
- Length: 74 life sentences plus 2,020 years
- Year sentenced: 2007
- Location: USA
- Type of crime: child abuse
He was convicted on several charges of kidnapping children between 2002 and 2007, using force to commit crimes, transporting kids over state boundaries for sex, child pornography, attempted murder, and attempted forced sodomy. Devlin entered a guilty plea to the Franklin County charges against him on October 8. He was given one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world for kidnapping a child and a lesser, concurrent term for using a weapon in criminal activity during that court appearance.
11- Larry D. Kiel
- Length: 2,501 years
- Year sentenced: 1992
- Location: USA
- Type of crime: drug trafficking
Kiel gave an undercover police officer “a small amount” of cocaine. Following his apprehension, his vehicle yielded 86 grams of cocaine, 40 grams of marijuana, and $1,800. For a total of 2,501 years, Kiel was given 1,000 years for drug trafficking, 1,000 years for possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, 250 years for failing to have a tax stamp on the narcotics, 250 years for keeping a car used for unlawful purposes, and 1 year for having drug paraphernalia. Date of Parole was June 16, 2009. He received one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world.
10- James Eagan Holmes
- Length: 3,318 years and 12 life sentences
Year Sentenced: 2015
Location: USA
Type of Crime: Mass Murder
Ames Eagan Holmes gained widespread recognition on the internet as the perpetrator of the 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Holmes entered a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, detonating tear gas bombs and shooting the patrons. Twelve individuals were killed by Holmes, who also injured seventy others. Holmes received a separate life sentence for each victim that perished. Moreover, he received one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world.
9- Abdullah Barghouti
- Length: 67 life sentences plus 5,200 years without parole
Year Sentenced: 2004
Location: isreal
Type of Crime: Murder
One of Hamas’ main bomb builders and commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades. He is kept in isolation and is not allowed to see others because he was found guilty of the murder of 66 Israelis. The lengthiest sentence ever officially acknowledged to have been given outside of the United States. Abdullah al-Barghouti would be taken with Israel if it were forced to flee its territory, according to the Israeli official in charge of the prisoner’s file. Al-Barghouti was sentenced to 5,200 years in jail and 67 life in prison following a military tribunal on allegations of carrying out seven operations. He was sentenced to one of 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world.
8- Adnan Oktar
- Length: 8,658 years
- Year sentenced: 2022
- Location: turkey
- Type of crime: fraud and sexual abuse
Oktar and more than 160 of his colleagues were taken into custody by the Turkish police’s financial crimes branch on July 11, 2018, on allegations of organizing a criminal enterprise, financial fraud, and sexual assault. According to TRT, the longest sentence in the country for committing fraud and sexual assault. Originally given a 1,075-year sentence. He was retried on November 17, 2022, and given an 8,658-year sentence. It is also listed among the “20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world.”
7-Dudley Wayne Kyzer
- Length: 10,000 years and three life sentences
Year Sentenced: 1977 and 1981
Location: USA
Type of Crime: Murder
One of his prosecutors referred to Dudley Wayne Kyzer as a “born killer” after he fatally shot his mother-in-law, his estranged wife, and an innocent college student. At Kyzer’s 1977 trial, he was first given an electric chair death sentence; however, this sentence was later overturned on the grounds that it was cruel. When he was tried again in 1980, he was given three life sentences with an additional 10,000 years. While Kyzer’s pals who pay him visits in jail attest to his transformation as a born-again Christian, he has nevertheless been turned down for parole ten times. His sentence is also considered as one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world
6- Darron Bennalford Anderson
- Length: 11,250 years
- Year sentenced: 1994
- Location: USA
- Type of crime: sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping
Maximum sentence imposed following an appeal. Selected for a 2,250-year sentence after being found guilty of a variety of offences, including the rape of an old woman in Tulsa County, theft, robbery, and abduction. Upon filing an appeal, he was found guilty again, given a new sentence, and given an extra 9,500 years in prison, which was ultimately lowered by 500 years. Additionally, his punishment is regarded as one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world.
5- Pudit Kittithradilok
- Length: 13,275 years
- Year sentenced: 2017
- Location: Thailand
- Type of crime: fraud
Found guilty on 2,653 charges of fraud. He acknowledged operating a Ponzi scheme in which he made fictitious promises of enormous financial rewards to investors. Roughly 40,000 individuals were convinced to invest over $160 million (£120 million) in his businesses. Furthermore, his sentence is thought to be among the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world. The prosecution informed the court that Kittithradilok hosted seminars at which the guests were urged to invest in companies he claimed were involved in real estate development, cosmetics, exports, and used automobiles, among other things.
4-Allan Wayne McLaurin and Darron Bennalford Anderson
- Length: 21,000 years
Year Sentenced: 1994
Location: USA
Type of Crime: Child Abuse
These two perpetrators in Tulsa County were involved in a string of heinous acts, including the sexual assault of an elderly woman over many hours after they had pushed her car off the road. Their other transgressions included robbery, larceny, and abduction.
Following his sentence, McLaurin filed an appeal and had it lowered by 500 years. Anderson filed an appeal, was found guilty a second time, and was given an additional 9,500 years to serve out his current sentence. The total sentence length for McLaurin and Anderson is almost 32,500 years. In addition, his punishment is regarded as one of the 20 longest prison sentences ever given in the world.