Ronnie Long’s lawyers announced Tuesday that he has reached a settlement with the city of Central North Carolina and the State of North Carolina after being wrongly accused of the rape of a White woman during the 1970s.
Long, who is now 68 years old, was sentenced to two lives in prison after a jury of all-Whites in Cabarrus county, Concord, found that he had committed burglary , and raped Sarah Judson Bost (then 54) at her home, on April 25, 1976, with a knife. Long was 21 years old at the time.
Long, however, never committed these crimes. In August 2020, the federal appeals court granted him a second hearing in an effort to get relief. His conviction was almost immediately vacated and Long was freed from prison. Gov. Roy Cooper pardoned him for his innocence later in the year.
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(Concord Police Department/the Charlotte Observer, via AP).
Long’s lawyers, who are part of a clinic that investigates wrongful convictions at Duke University Law School, stated that there was no physical evidence that linked Long to the rape or burglary, and that over 40 fingerprints taken from the crime scene had never been shared, and they did not match Long. The defense was never given any semen samples.
According to Duke Law, his attorneys also claimed that the county sheriff and chief of police had inexplicably removed almost all Black potential jurors before summonses were sent.
After a few months, the state commission awarded Long $750,000 – according to state law, this is the maximum compensation available for victims of wrongfully incarcerated. In federal court, he accused Concord police of “extraordinary conduct” which led to his wrongful imprisonment and conviction.
Concord, North Carolina is about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte.
As part of the settlement, Concord, which is located approximately 25 miles northeast from Charlotte, will pay $22,000,000 of the settlement. Long will also receive $3 million as part of the settlement from the State Bureau of Investigation. This is for the role of the SBI in hiding evidence that proved Mr. Long’s innocence from him and his legal team, according to a press release by his attorneys.
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The city issued a statement that read: “We are deeply sorry for past wrongs which caused great harm to Mr. Long and his family, as well as friends and the community.” While there are no immediate measures that can be taken to restore everything to Mr. Long’s family and to his friends, we will do all in our power through this agreement to make amends for the past and to take responsibility.
The settlement of $25 million represents the largest settlement for wrongful convictions in North Carolina History.
Long’s lawyers said that the statement of the city was very important to their client.
Concord is located on a map.
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Chris Olson said that the result “speaks to the magnitude and injustice of Mr. Long’s situation,” adding that the “apology will go a long way towards helping Mr. Long recover.”
“Have justice been served in this case?” According to the Daily Mail, Jamie Lau, Long’s criminal lawyer, made a statement that said “absolutely not”.
” Money will never be able to compensate Ronnie’s losses, but this is an important step for him.”
This report was contributed by The Associated Press.