What was Ronnie Long charged with? Wrongfully convicted North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison reaches $25 million settlement

After serving 44 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, Ronnie Long is finally set to receive $25 million from the settlement of a wrongful conviction civil lawsuit with the city of Concord and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. This is reported to be the second-largest wrongful conviction settlement in history. The man was released in 2020.

According to the Duke Law School Wrongful Conviction Clinic, Ronnie Long was convicted in 1976 of the r*pe of a "prominent white woman." His case was marred by potential jury tampering, suggestive identification, undisclosed forensic evidence, false law enforcement testimony, and even a missing r*pe kit. Ronnie was charged with trespassing, burglary, and r*pe.

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The city of Concord apologized to Ronnie Long

The settlement, which was announced on Tuesday, January 9, stated that the city of Concord reached a $22 million settlement with the now-68-year-old Ronnie Long. The remaining $3 million was set to be received from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The statement released by the city read:

"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."

The Concord City Council announced in the statement that the city was "deeply remorseful" for the wrong done against Long, his friends, family, and the entire community. The council agreed that the man suffered an "extraordinary loss" of a part of his life and his freedom. The city stated:

"While there are no measures to fully restore to Mr. Long and his family all that was taken from them, through this agreement we are doing everything in our power to right the past wrongs and take responsibility."

They further added:

"We are hopeful this can begin the healing process for Mr. Long and our community, and that together we can move forward while learning valuable lessons and ensuring nothing like this ever happens again."

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The tragic tale of Ronnie Long

In April 1976, a man reportedly broke into the South Union Street, Concord, North Carolina, residence of a 54-year-old woman named Sarah Bost. The man confronted Sarah in the kitchen, pointed a knife at her, and demanded cash. Since there was no money in her purse, he dragged her up the stairs and r*ped her. The man was startled and left 10 minutes into the assault after Sarah's phone rang.

The woman then rushed to the neighbor's house and dialed 911.

Ronnie Long had been on the radar of the Concord Police for a while after being a suspect in a similar Washington, D.C., r*pe case where his wallet was found. Ronnie's attorneys later claimed that he had dropped his wallet while in the city.

Long was arrested days after the attack for trespassing in a public park near his house, around a mile from the residence of the victim. His case came up at the courthouse on May 10. The police, who told Bost that the r*pist may be present at the courthouse, brought her in, wearing a disguise. When Ronnie's case came up, Bost immediately identified him as the r*pist.

She also later picked out his image from a set of photographs. While the trespassing charge against Ronnie Long was dropped, a few days later, the police arrested him on r*pe and burglary charges. He was convicted of r*pe in October 1976. According to the Duke Law Wrongful Convictions Clinic, there were a lot of discrepancies within the case.

The Clinic stated that the Chief of Police and County Sheriff had removed all potential black jurors from the jury pool and replaced the whole jury with only white people. The original description of the r*pist by the woman herself was that the person was a "yellow or really light-skinned Black male." Ronnie Long was not a light-skinned black male.

As per CNN, Long's attorneys said that the identification procedure itself was extremely suggestive, and there was no physical evidence actually proving the r*pe. 43 samples of fingernails, a semen sample, fingerprints, hair, and a burnt match were all forensic evidence collected from the crime scene. But the evidence was suppressed. The $25 million civil case filing states that none of these matched Ronnie Long.

Concord Police Department officers also presented false testimonies about the evidence during the trial. The r*pe kit, which was conducted at the Cabarrus Memorial Hospital, also allegedly went missing.

Ronnie Long spent 44 years, 3 months, and 17 days behind bars. He became a Duke Law Wrongful Convictions Clinic client in 2015, and on August 27, 2020, Long was finally released after his conviction was vacated.

Long was initially set to receive $750,000 in compensation as this was the maximum payable amount, as stated by North Carolina law. He filed the case against the city in 2021. The man was also pardoned by Gov. Roy Cooper. Duke Law Wrongful Convictions Clinic supervising attorney Jamie Lau stated in a press release:

"No amount of money will ever compensate Ronnie Long for the 44 years he spent incarcerated and the indifference of numerous elected officials who fought to keep him incarcerated despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence."

He added:

"While he was in prison his parents passed away; he missed birthdays, graduations, funerals, and other important events that mark a person’s life. He can never get this time back."

Having been arrested at the age of 21 when he was a cement mason with a son, Ronnie Long is now 68 years of age. He told CNN that he and his wife, Ashley, whom Long married while he was in prison, were planning to buy a house.