CONCORD, N.C. — A Concord man who served nearly 44 years in prison for a crime he said he didn’t commit has received compensation from the state of North Carolina.
Ronnie Long received $750,000, but said that it’s not nearly enough.
The amount is by law the state’s top compensation for victims of wrongful incarceration but Long’s attorney, Duke University law professor Jamie Lau, said the amount is inadequate for people who were imprisoned for decades.
Long was convicted of raping the widow of a Cannon Mills executive in 1976 by an all-white jury in Concord. Potentially exculpatory evidence was either intentionally withheld from his defense team or disappeared, and there was a tampered pool of potential jurors.
A federal court overturned Long’s conviction last year. He was released from prison in September and was pardoned by Gov. Roy Cooper.
Long said his mother and father both asked if he was home in the last moments of their lives. He walked free six weeks after his mother’s death.
Below is the statement issued by Long’s attorney:
“While grateful that Mr. Long received $750,000 in compensation, the amount is wholly inadequate to compensate him after taking away more than 44 years of his liberty. He was in a cage when both his parents died; when his son had birthdays and graduations. He lost everything for those 44 years, and certainly he deserves more than he has received.
“He will explore whatever remedies are available for holding those responsible for his wrongful incarceration accountable, and to ensure that he is financially secure in the future. Unlike others who are 65 years old, he lost his working years to incarceration and has no savings. He entered prison healthy and left broken. His ongoing financial security is the least he deserves after so much was taken over those 44 years. If remedies are available to improve his financial well-being, they will be pursued.
“The legislature established a cap of $750,000 several years ago to compensate men and women who were wrongfully incarcerated. Since that time, at least two men have been exonerated after more than 40 years of incarceration, which highlights the inadequacy of the compensation statute and that cap. It’s time to revisit this amount since we are learning the magnitude of the harm caused by wrongful convictions in North Carolina. It’s also time to revisit the compensation statute as a whole, as the Governor should not have full authority over who does and does not receive compensation. A review process that is not political should be established so all men and women who have been wrongly convicted has a fair chance at compensation.”
Cox Media Group
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