A Black Man whi was Framed by a White Woman, Received $25 Million Ater 44 years of injustice

 

Ronnie Long was wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in the 1970s. Photo Credit: NBC News Youtube screenshot

According to a report by Atlanta Black Star on Friday, January 26, 2024, Ronnie Long, a Black man who was falsely accused of raping a white woman and sentenced to two life terms in 1976, has received a $25 million settlement from the city of Concord, North Carolina and the state's Bureau of Investigation.

The settlement, announced on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, is one of the largest ever awarded to a wrongfully convicted person in the United States.

Long, who was 21 years old when he was arrested, spent more than four decades in prison before his conviction was overturned in 2020 by a federal appeals court, which found that the police and prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence that could have exonerated him.

The evidence included a rape kit, 43 fingerprints, and a hair sample that did not match Long's DNA.

Long's ordeal began when he was brought to a courthouse on a minor trespassing charge and identified by the victim, a wealthy widow who was attacked in her home by an intruder.

The victim, who had initially described the assailant as a "yellow or really light-skinned Black male", pointed to Long, a dark-skinned man, as he walked by in the hallway.

She was wearing a wig and sunglasses at the time, and later admitted that she had been coached by the police to pick Long out of a lineup.

Long's trial was marred by racial bias and misconduct.

He was convicted by an all-white jury, from which the police had excluded all potential Black jurors.

Some of the jurors had connections to Cannon Mills, a local textile company where the victim's late husband had been a top executive.

The company had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the rapist.

Long maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment, and fought for his freedom with the help of his wife, Ashleigh, whom he married in 2014, and his lawyers from the Duke Law School Wrongful Convictions Clinic.

His case gained national attention and support from celebrities, activists, and politicians, including Gov. Roy Cooper, who granted him a pardon of innocence in 2020.

Long, who is now 69 years old, said he was grateful for the settlement, but also expressed his anger and frustration at the injustice he suffered.

He also urged people to stand up against injustice and racism in the criminal justice system.