Paul Geidel
Encyclopedia
Paul Geidel was the longest serving American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 state prisons. He was released on May 7, 1980, at the age of 86.

Early Life and Murder

Born in Hartford, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 hotels.

On July 26, 1911, Geidel decided to rob William H. Jackson
William H. Jackson
William H. Jackson may refer to:* William Harding Jackson , U.S. National Security Advisor, 1956* William Henry Jackson , early photographer of the American West* William Hicks Jackson , Confederate general from Tennessee...

, 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
Clinton Correctional Facility
Clinton Correctional Facility is a New York State Department of Correctional Services state prison for men located in the Village of Dannemora, New York. The prison itself is sometimes colloquially referred to as Dannemora, although its actual name is derived from its location in Clinton County,...

, where he was confined until 1972. He was then moved to the Fishkill Correctional Facility
Fishkill Correctional Facility
Fishkill Correctional Facility is a medium security prison in New York, USA. The prison is located in both the Town of Fishkill and the City of Beacon in Dutchess County.Fishkill was constructed in 1896...

. 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
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 game, or other outing.

Geidel was granted parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...

 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.

Further reading

  • New York Times, September 26, 1926, "Slayer Near Freedom Found to be Insane".
  • New York Times, January 16, 1974 "Freedom Is Sought for a Murderer in Prison 62 Years".
  • New York Times, June 22, 1975, "Follow Up on the News".
  • New York Times, May 9, 1980, "Convict is Released After 68 Years".

external Link

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