Cindy White is Indiana’s longest-serving female prisoner, held at the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis for nearly fifty years after being convicted of six counts of felony murder and arson for a New Year’s Eve 1975 fire in Greenwood that killed every member of the Roberson family. She was eighteen. Despite more than a dozen clemency filings and years of professional recommendations for her release, no governor has granted her petition.
The Greenwood Fire and the Six Deaths
On December 31, 1975, a fire engulfed the home at 24 Sayre Drive in Greenwood, Indiana. Charles and Carol Roberson died inside, along with their four children: Michael, Dale, Gary, and Rita. All six died from carbon monoxide and smoke inhalation. Investigators determined the fire had been deliberately set, with burn patterns showing an accelerant such as gasoline had been used to spread flames rapidly.1Justia. White v. State
White had been living with the family as a babysitter. She started the fire after the family went to bed. At trial, prosecutors portrayed her as a jilted lover acting out of revenge against Charles Roberson, using love letters the two had exchanged and nude photographs recovered from his wallet to build that narrative.
Why She Got Six Life Sentences
White was convicted of arson in the first degree and six counts of felony murder, one count for each person who died. Under Indiana’s old penal code, prosecutors did not have to prove she specifically intended to kill anyone. If a death resulted from the arson, the person who set the fire was automatically guilty of murder, and each death produced its own count.1Justia. White v. State
The trial court imposed a life sentence on each of the six murder convictions, plus an indeterminate five-to-twenty-year sentence for arson.1Justia. White v. State Indiana law at the time required a life sentence for murder. Judges had no range to work within.
Indiana rewrote its penal code in 1977. Murder today carries a fixed term of 45 to 65 years, with an advisory sentence of 55, and courts can impose life without parole or the death penalty for defendants who were at least eighteen.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-3 – Murder White’s crime predates that overhaul, so the old rules still govern her case.
The Abuse Context That Didn’t Reach the Jury
What came out later in post-conviction proceedings and psychological evaluations has become central to the case for her release. White entered the Roberson home as a teenager with a documented history of sexual and physical abuse in her own family. Charles Roberson began a sexual relationship with her shortly after she moved in. The relationship later escalated to include Carol Roberson and increasingly coercive acts that White described as painful and frightening.
Mental health professionals who evaluated her over the years concluded she was carrying compounding layers of post-traumatic stress disorder when she set the fire. One psychologist who testified at post-conviction hearings described her as already severely damaged by prior abuse before new trauma was piled on top. Her petitions have framed the fire as a desperate, poorly calculated attempt to escape, not the calculated act prosecutors described.
The nude photographs prosecutors used to argue a consensual affair have been reinterpreted by her advocates as evidence of exploitation of a vulnerable teenager by an adult man in a position of authority over her.
Parole, Clemency, and Why She’s Still Inside
When Indiana abolished discretionary parole in 1977, it kept parole eligibility for people sentenced under the old code. The Indiana Parole Board still has discretionary release authority over those offenders.3Indiana Department of Correction. Indiana Parole Board A person serving a life sentence for murder under the old framework could apply for parole after twenty years, and White became eligible for consideration decades ago.
Clemency is a separate route. The Parole Board also functions as a clemency commission and makes recommendations to the Governor on commutation requests.3Indiana Department of Correction. Indiana Parole Board For old code lifers, clemency petitions move through the board before reaching the Governor’s desk, with scheduling and eligibility set by state administrative rule.4Indiana General Assembly. Title 220, Article 1.1 General Provisions
By 2016, White had filed at least ten clemency appeals. Department of Correction mental health staff began recommending her release as early as 1987. In a 1990 report, a former staff psychologist wrote that he could see no point to continuing her incarceration from either a rehabilitative or punitive standpoint. Her attorney, Charles Asher, has compiled evaluations from psychologists, psychiatrists, and correctional counselors over more than a decade, all reaching the same conclusion: she has been rehabilitated and poses no meaningful risk. Community members have offered to house her during a transition.
Dale Roberson Jr., son of one of the victims, has publicly said he believes White should be freed. Support from a victim’s family member carries unusual weight in clemency proceedings, where the board considers input from those directly affected by the crime.
Where Things Stand
As of late 2025, White remains at the Indiana Women’s Prison. She entered the system as a teenager and is now in her late sixties, still the longest-serving female inmate in the state. Every clemency petition filed on her behalf has been denied. The next decision rests with the Governor’s office.