Nation's Longest Serving Death-Row Inmate Gary Alvord Dies at 66

[Zoneboy]

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Convicted killer Gary Alvord no longer holds the distinction of being on death row longer than any other inmate in the United States.

The 66-year-old inmate died Sunday at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford.

A spokeswoman confirmed the death but could not provide details, including whether Alvord's body was claimed by relatives or whether he will be buried on state grounds.

For almost 40 years, Alvord waited out a death sentence he received for the 1973 murders of three women in Tampa.

The reason he was never executed: mental illness.

For most of his life, Alvord has been plagued by delusions and disordered thoughts that doctors have most often attributed to schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder. The law forbids the execution of anyone with such a mental condition.

Alvord outlasted eight presidents, nine governors and two death warrants. Since he arrived on death row, Alvord watched 74 other inmates march to the execution chamber.

Of those who have been executed in the last decade, the average length of stay on death row has been about 20 years — half as long as Alvord.

[gilligan fanatic]

Forty years is a long time!