05 of History’s Most Incredibly Long Prison Sentences

Depending on where you are in the world and what you believe about the law, imprisonment can mean punishment, detention, or rehabilitation. Sometimes she can do all three, sometimes she can only do one, and even then just barely. It seems to depend on the punishment and the prisoner in many cases. But in addition to this, there are occasions when imprisonment is used as a dramatic expression, often political or perhaps just a moral statement. In these cases, a sentence is presented that seems less about what it means to the recipient than it might mean to society as a whole. Some of them can be surprisingly long.

1. 141,000 Years for Fraud

Getting into the Guinness Book of Records sounds fun, but not if it's for the longest prison sentence in history, which is what happened to Chamoy Thipiyasu. A Thai business manager has been found guilty of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of people. Because of her position in the oil industry and the fact that her husband was a high-ranking military officer, people thought her investment opportunities were backed by the military and that she was moving fast, yes, so he invested over $16,000 $204 million. Even members of the Thai royal family have been duped.

At the end of his trial, Tibiaso was found guilty and sentenced to 141,078 years in prison. Cool, isn't it? But here's the thing. I was so the phrase dramatic was basically just for show and couldn't really go on. Even more terrifying is the fact that he only served 8 out of a possible 20 years anyway.

2. Terry Nichols Got 161 Life Sentences

Many people in American courts are sentenced to life imprisonment, a meaningless term without a lot of meaning that implies a lot about when and how parole is possible. Is life for an 18-year-old the same as a 90-year-old? The answer is no. For example, in Georgia, a person sentenced to life in prison prior to July 1, 2006 may be eligible for parole after 14 years. But 30 years have passed since that date. So is 30 years a life sentence? In many states, it is 15 years before parole is granted.

To solve this pesky issue of parole, judges in the United States can impose cascading sentences for crimes that keep criminals behind bars for life and then some. Take Terry Nichols, who was convicted of the Oklahoma City bombing, for example. He was sentenced to 161 consecutive sentences, with one life sentence without the possibility of parole for each person who died in his assaults. 

3. James Holmes Got 12 Life Sentences Plus 3,318 Years

James Holmes is the mass murderer who murdered 12 people and wounded 70 others in Aurora, Colorado in 2012. He was sentenced to 12 life sentences for each of those he apparently killed, but was not convicted. Since he intended to kill everyone, the people who were injured were all cases of attempted murder. For this, along with the charges related to the explosives he detonated in his home, he was sentenced to an additional 3,318 years in prison.

That sentence is divided into 48 years and five parole terms for each count of attempted murder, plus 96 years for second-degree murder, and six years for the explosive charge.

Holmes was nearly sentenced to death but one member of the jury disagreed with the verdict, ruling that mental health issues were a mitigating factor, while two other jurors were on the fence. In the end, Holmes would never see the light of day again as a free man.

4. Bombmaker Abdullah Barghouti Got 67 Life Sentences Plus 5,200 Years

Acts of terrorism often result in longer penalties for perpetrators than an almost identical offense that is not considered an act of terrorism. Abdullah Barghouti was arrested on charges of involvement with Hamas, including reviving its military wing that was involved in making bombs. He was arrested by Israeli forces and charged with seven separate bombings.

After a military trial in 2004, Barghouti was sentenced to 67 years in prison for killing 67 people and injuring nearly 500. In addition, he received another 5,200 years.

In 2011, it was reported that he had served his entire sentence in solitary confinement with no visitors allowed. 

5. Multiple People Have Been Sentenced to Over 1,000 Years for Drug Trafficking

When it comes to heinous crimes like terrorism, murder, and rape, it can be easy to understand the anger behind some of these most dramatic sentences. But that's not exactly what happened to Pintura Flores when he was convicted of trafficking in 1973.

Disproportionate drug sentences are nothing new, of course, and there are ongoing efforts to convict people in prison on marijuana charges because the drug is already legal in a large number of states. But Flores was accused of smuggling heroin, a very dangerous drug that still seems questionable because the man sold only $10's worth of it.

Despite the minor nature of the crime, Flores was sentenced to 1,800 years in prison.

In Oklahoma, Larry D. Keel was sentenced to 2,501 years in prison for drug trafficking when he was re-sentenced in 1992. Part of that sentence includes 250 years for possession of a controlled substance without a tax stamp and another 250 years for vehicle maintenance. A controlled substance is being placed.