Who is the real John Q. Archibald and how long was he imprisoned?

The character John Q. Archibald is a fictitious character, so he was never imprisoned. The character appears in the movie John Q.

The movie premiered in February of 2002 and starred Denzel Washington who played the character of John Q. After learning his insurance would not cover his son's heart transplant, John decided to take all of the people in the emergency room hostage until doctors treating his son agreed to do the transplant. The movie was not based off of a true story, and it was directed by Nick Cassavetes. This film spurred controversy about the health care reform in the United States.