Wrongfully Convicted Man Receives ₦25 Billion Compensation After 44 Years in Prison for Rape

A man who was unjustly imprisoned for 44 years for a rape he did not commit has been awarded a compensation of ₦25 billion in the United States, Aso Naija Reports.

Ronnie Long, now 68 years old, reached a groundbreaking settlement of $25 million (equivalent to about N25 billion) in a civil lawsuit. The settlement includes $22 million from the city and $3 million from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, as confirmed by one of his attorneys, Jamie T. Lau.

In an official written apology issued by the Concord City Council, they expressed deep remorse for the grave injustices committed against Mr. Long, his family, friends, and the community.

The council acknowledged that Mr. Long had endured the profound loss of his freedom and a significant portion of his life due to the wrongful conviction of rape and time in prison.

Mr. Long served an agonizing 44 years, 3 months, and 17 days in prison for a crime he did not commit.

While it is impossible to fully restore everything that was taken from Mr. Long and his family, the settlement agreement demonstrates a commitment to rectifying past wrongs and accepting responsibility.

At the time of his conviction on October 1, 1976, Mr. Long was a 21-year-old cement mason with a 2-year-old son.

He was accused of breaking into a residence in Concord, located approximately 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, and raping a 54-year-old woman earlier that year.

Despite the absence of any physical evidence linking him to the crime, Mr. Long was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences.

According to Mr. Long’s legal team, there was significant pressure on the Concord police to close the case, partly because the victim’s deceased husband had held an executive position at a local textile company called Cannon Mills. The company had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, as reported by the NYTimes.