On May 7, 1980, Paul Geidel Jr. was released from prison after spending an astonishing 68 years incarcerated for a murder committed when he was only a teenager. In 1911, at the age of 17, Geidel, then a bellhop at the Iroquois Hotel in New York, robbed and killed a wealthy broker who was staying there, leading to a sentence of 20 years to life.
Initially housed at the infamous Sing Sing prison, Geidel faced evaluations for early release in the early 1920s. However, he was deemed legally insane and transferred to the Dannemora State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. His first attempt for parole was denied in 1929, after he had already served 18 years. In 1972, he was moved to the Fishkill Correctional Facility, where he was granted parole in 1974 but surprisingly declined it. At the age of 80, he expressed deep fears about reintegrating into society, stating, “I can’t make it out there. They treat me well here. Sing Sing was a bad place when I got in there. But I deserved it.”
Geidel’s life in prison continued for another six years, during which he believed he would soon pass away. Remarkably, he enjoyed rare outings to baseball games with prison staff, which provided a small glimpse of the outside world. When he finally walked free at the age of 86, he was recognised as the longest-serving prisoner in history. Following his release, he spent his remaining years in a nursing home, passing away seven years later at the age of 93. Geidel’s story serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities of justice and the human capacity for change over a lifetime spent behind bars.