"Wrongfully Convicted NC Man Receives $25M Settlement After 44 Years in Prison"

Ronnie Long, who spent over 44 years in prison after a wrongful conviction in 1976, has reached a $25 million settlement in a civil lawsuit against the city of Concord and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Long, who is Black, was convicted by an all-white jury for a rape he did not commit, and despite no physical evidence linking him to the crime, he was sentenced to two life terms. The settlement, the second-largest of its kind, includes a public apology from the city of Concord and acknowledges the significant errors in judgment and willful misconduct that led to Long's wrongful conviction and imprisonment. This case highlights the ongoing issue of wrongful convictions, with over 3,400 exonerations since 1989 and racial disparities in the exoneration process.