The average time prisoners spend on Death Row in the US is 15 years. A quarter of them die of natural causes while awaiting execution
The current record is held by jointly held by Thomas Knight (executed after 39 years on death row) and Gary Alvord (died of a brain tumour after 39 years on death row).
Thomas Knight (pictured) murdered a couple in 1974 after forcing them to withdraw money from a bank
He was arrested 19 days later. While awaiting trial, he escaped and robbed a shop โ murdering the man on the checkout. He was arrested again 2 months later. He was tried and sentenced to death. While on death row, he murdered a prison guard with a sharpened spoon
After multiple appeals and rulings, he was executed in 2014 by lethal injection. His last meal was sweet potato pie, coconut cake, banana bread, strawberries, ice cream and a bottle of Sprite
