And it seems he was innocent.
https://www.cracked.com/article_34310_connecticut-put-a-prob...
https://www.cracked.com/article_34310_connecticut-put-a-prob...
They’re listed on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_prison_sentenc..., but I’m unable to find a Wikipedia page for them (Francis Clifford Smith).
I'm not blaming them at all for it by the way, they're a comedic publication not investigative, I'm just weirded out by your perception of them when they themselves go out of their way to not purport themselves as any kind of authoritative source.
I miss old Cracked.com when they had a consistent set of good writers but even in the good ol' days they were making comedy articles and not serious journalism.
They had good writers at one time, but that time has long passed.