Ronnie Long, a Black man from North Carolina who spent the last 44 years in prison after being wrongly convicted for raping a white woman, has received a historic settlement. The money comes more than three years after his name was cleared and he was exonerated—and it will never be enough.
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Long, 68, has been awarded a total of $25 million. He settled his civil lawsuit with Concord for $22 million, the city confirmed Tuesday.
“In the settlement, the City of Concord acknowledges and accepts responsibility for the significant errors in judgment and willful misconduct by previous city employees that led to Long’s wrongful conviction and imprisonment,” according to the suit.
Additionally, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation had settled for $3 million, per Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic. The clinic also shared that it’s the second-largest wrongful conviction settlement on record. Long’s criminal attorney, Jamie Lau, acknowledged the system’s unforgivable failure.
“It’s, obviously, a celebratory day today knowing that Ronnie’s going to have his means met for the rest of his life with this settlement. It’s been a long road to get to this point, so that’s a great outcome. Have we found justice in this case? Absolutely not. No amount of money will ever compensate Ronnie for all that he lost, but this is a big step forward for him,” Lau stated.
On Oct. 1, 1976, an all-white jury found Long guilty of raping a white woman. He was just 21 when he was sentenced to life in prison. Long appealed his case in February 2020. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9-6 that his due process rights were violated at trial.
The district court overturned Long’s conviction in August 2020 and he was released that month. The sad truth is there are many inmates like Long who have been wrongfully convicted—and may never receive any semblance of justice.
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