Black man who spent 44 years in prison before he was exonerated gets record $25M settlement

[Coyote]

Maybe they are probably long deceased? But I tend to agree with you that this kind of settlement is a load of shit. The detectives and prosecutor should definitely have a chance to defend and explain their actions.

Those who made the errors that landed a fellow in stir should be the ones responsible. Not the current taxpayers of the city, many of whom weren't even around back then.

It isn’t a load of shit when you consider the majority of his life was spent behind bars. He’s an old man, prison probably wrecked his health. The state sent him to prison, they should pay the settlement. The one’s in “error” were acting on behalf of the state weren’t they? So yes, todays taxpayers will indirectly pay this, but so what?

 

[drudge X]

None of us know, how would you know? Don't you think it suspicious that her rape kit disappeared?

Agreed but I suspect they didn't JUST find out that she was lying about who raped her.

For me and perhaps other Black people as well, this incident brings back bad feelings about the white women who had Emmitt Till murdered because he whistled at her and the police admitted they didn't want to "bother" her because she had young kids. Bother her versus having someone murdered?

I am sure she was examined by doctors. Whether she purposely lied about who raped her, that maybe very hard to prove unless put through a deposition. Since it was a long time back, she can say I don't recall.

The media loves to sensationalize rape accusation by the victim without thoroughly looking at the story. See the Duke boys and their lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine. Another infamous faux rape claim was by Tawana Brawley. Sharpton and Brawley still instisted that four white guys raped her despite a thorough investigation found no evidence. One of the accused sued her and won.

 

[Coyote]

That jive-ass turkey would have never earned $25 million over those years he was in prison. This is a windfall to him.

Would you rather spend 44 years in prison?

 

[AZrailwhale]

If the prosecutor, cops and detectives didn't have any evidence that a Black man raped the woman, then I seriously doubt you do either.

I don’t know, but the DNA that cleared him should have indicated the race of the rapist. At this late date a conviction would be unlikely even if the statute of limitations hadn’t run out long ago.

 

[Couchpotato]

This raises an interesting question. If the state convicts a person in good faith (theres no mal intent or other such buffoonery) is it at fault if it turns out they are innocent? Not saying that’s the case here just a general question.

 

[Mack Brazile]

A Black North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of raping a prominent white woman has been awarded a historic $25 million settlement more than three years after he was exonerated.

Ronnie Long, 68, settled his civil lawsuit with the city of Concord, about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, for $22 million, the city said in a news release Tuesday. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation had previously settled for $3 million, according to Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic.

The clinic, which represented Long, said the settlement is the second largest wrongful conviction settlement recorded.

"It’s, obviously, a celebratory day today knowing that Ronnie’s going to have his means met for the rest of his life with this settlement. It’s been a long road to get to this point so that’s a great outcome," clinical professor Jamie Lau, Long's criminal attorney, said in a phone interview Tuesday.

"Have we found justice in this case? Absolutely not. No amount of money will ever compensate Ronnie for all that he lost, but this is a big step forward for him," Lau said.

The city also issued a rare public apology to Long.

"We are deeply remorseful for the past wrongs that caused tremendous harm to Mr. Long, his family, friends and our community. Mr. Long suffered the extraordinary loss of his freedom and a substantial portion of his life because of this conviction," the city said. "He wrongly served 44 years, 3 months and 17 days in prison for a crime he did not commit."

They said there was no physical evidence tying Long to the rape and burglary and he did not match the original description of the suspect — a "yellow or really light-skinned Black male." A rape kit collected at the hospital and provided to Concord police went missing and has never been found, Long's attorneys said.

They said the prosecution’s main piece of evidence was the victim identifying Long weeks after the attack and it was "the product of a suggestive identification procedure arranged by the police to target Long."

There were also numerous pieces of evidence from the scene, including suspect hair and 43 fingerprints, that could have helped exonerate him, according to his attorneys. The evidence, which they said did not belong to Long, was tested by investigators but not disclosed. The attorneys also accused Concord police officers of giving false testimony about the evidence at Long's trial.

MSN

www.msn.com

44yrs for a crime you didn't commit and all it took was a white woman to say, "He did it".

Why isn't the false accuser being locked up for 44yrs? What does she have to pay?

Why aren't the crooked ass cops being prosecuted?

Why isn't the crooked ass prosecutor being prosecuted?

You want to talk about a 2 tier Justice System, this is a fine example of it.

North Carolina PD-Good ol Fashioned Police Work

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Good for him!!

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

I am sure she was examined by doctors. Whether she purposely lied about who raped her, that maybe very hard to prove unless put through a deposition. Since it was a long time back, she can say I don't recall.

The media loves to sensationalize rape accusation by the victim without thoroughly looking at the story. See the Duke boys and their lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine. Another infamous faux rape claim was by Tawana Brawley. Sharpton and Brawley still instisted that four white guys raped her despite a thorough investigation found no evidence. One of the accused sued her and won.

How do you know a thorough investigation was done? And why are all of your examples Black women?

 

[drudge X]

How do you know a thorough investigation was done? And why are all of your examples Black women?

You’re telling me if a woman said she was raped, the prosecutor will take her words at face value without a thorough investigation? That’s what Rolling Stone did and the magazine paid the price.

 

[Superbadbrutha]

I am sure she was examined by doctors. Whether she purposely lied about who raped her, that maybe very hard to prove unless put through a deposition. Since it was a long time back, she can say I don't recall.

The media loves to sensationalize rape accusation by the victim without thoroughly looking at the story. See the Duke boys and their lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine. Another infamous faux rape claim was by Tawana Brawley. Sharpton and Brawley still instisted that four white guys raped her despite a thorough investigation found no evidence. One of the accused sued her and won.

Read the case man, instead of just throwing out a bunch of hypothetical bullshit.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

I don’t know, but the DNA that cleared him should have indicated the race of the rapist. At this late date a conviction would be unlikely even if the statute of limitations hadn’t run out long ago.

I checked and they didn't begin using DNA evidence to clear suspects until around 1986. If Mr. Long was incarcerated for 44 years that would mean he began serving his sentence around 1979 with his trial having commenced and concluded in the years prior.

They probably had no way of checking at that point in time and probably not the inclination either.

 

[Godboy]

A Black North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of raping a prominent white woman has been awarded a historic $25 million settlement more than three years after he was exonerated.

Ronnie Long, 68, settled his civil lawsuit with the city of Concord, about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, for $22 million, the city said in a news release Tuesday. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation had previously settled for $3 million, according to Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic.

The clinic, which represented Long, said the settlement is the second largest wrongful conviction settlement recorded.

"It’s, obviously, a celebratory day today knowing that Ronnie’s going to have his means met for the rest of his life with this settlement. It’s been a long road to get to this point so that’s a great outcome," clinical professor Jamie Lau, Long's criminal attorney, said in a phone interview Tuesday.

"Have we found justice in this case? Absolutely not. No amount of money will ever compensate Ronnie for all that he lost, but this is a big step forward for him," Lau said.

The city also issued a rare public apology to Long.

"We are deeply remorseful for the past wrongs that caused tremendous harm to Mr. Long, his family, friends and our community. Mr. Long suffered the extraordinary loss of his freedom and a substantial portion of his life because of this conviction," the city said. "He wrongly served 44 years, 3 months and 17 days in prison for a crime he did not commit."

They said there was no physical evidence tying Long to the rape and burglary and he did not match the original description of the suspect — a "yellow or really light-skinned Black male." A rape kit collected at the hospital and provided to Concord police went missing and has never been found, Long's attorneys said.

They said the prosecution’s main piece of evidence was the victim identifying Long weeks after the attack and it was "the product of a suggestive identification procedure arranged by the police to target Long."

There were also numerous pieces of evidence from the scene, including suspect hair and 43 fingerprints, that could have helped exonerate him, according to his attorneys. The evidence, which they said did not belong to Long, was tested by investigators but not disclosed. The attorneys also accused Concord police officers of giving false testimony about the evidence at Long's trial.

MSN

www.msn.com

44yrs for a crime you didn't commit and all it took was a white woman to say, "He did it".

Why isn't the false accuser being locked up for 44yrs? What does she have to pay?

Why aren't the crooked ass cops being prosecuted?

Why isn't the crooked ass prosecutor being prosecuted?

You want to talk about a 2 tier Justice System, this is a fine example of it.

Your quote implies that the cops tricked the rape victim into identifying him as the rapist. You want HER to be punished for that? Why are you trying to harm an innocent rape victim?

 

[DGS49]

It is fine to provide this man with a generous settlement. The amount here is a sick joke...on the taxpayers and insurance companies that will have to fork over the money. It should have stipulated a maximum attorney's fee, but I'm sure it didn't.

The ones that sort-of piss me off are the ones where the fukker was factually guilty but the conviction was tossed out due to prosecutorial misconduct. Or like the infamous Central Park Five, who were guilty, admitted they were guilty (with parents and lawyers present) then got settlements in the millions. Only in New York, fortunately.

 

[Superbadbrutha]

Your quote implies that the cops tricked the rape victim into identifying him as the rapist. You want HER to be punished for that? Why are you trying to harm an innocent rape victim?

They said the prosecution’s main piece of evidence was the victim identifying Long weeks after the attack and it was "the product of a suggestive identification procedure arranged by the police to target Long."

 

[leftwinger]

They don’t go pull honor students (with no record) out of class at Brown to do 44 yrs. If this guy didn’t do this one, there are assuredly ten others he got away with. Probably a rap sheet from SC to ATL. Show it before you get all weepy//

 

[Godboy]

They said the prosecution’s main piece of evidence was the victim identifying Long weeks after the attack and it was "the product of a suggestive identification procedure arranged by the police to target Long."

"THIS is the guy mam. He was the only one that was around. Look at him again. That is him, right?"

She shrugs, "it was dark, but yeah, i guess that is him. Like you said, it couldnt be anyone else."

 

[initforme]

It is fine to provide this man with a generous settlement. The amount here is a sick joke...on the taxpayers and insurance companies that will have to fork over the money. It should have stipulated a maximum attorney's fee, but I'm sure it didn't.

The ones that sort-of piss me off are the ones where the fukker was factually guilty but the conviction was tossed out due to prosecutorial misconduct. Or like the infamous Central Park Five, who were guilty, admitted they were guilty (with parents and lawyers present) then got settlements in the millions. Only in New York, fortunately.

It's not that much. Seems very fair.

 

[Superbadbrutha]

"THIS is the guy mam. He was the only one that was around. Look at him again. That is him, right?"

She shrugs, "it was dark, but yeah, i guess that is him. Like you said, it couldnt be anyone else."

Let the racism go for awhile, his description is totally different, the forensic evidence that they collected doesn't match him.

 

[leftwinger]

It's not that much. Seems very fair.

BS. Money does not grow on trees. If you pay $1K state income tax each year it will take 1000 years to get to even $1million. If you pay $10K property tax only 100 yrs to pay him 1million. Do the math. This goes on all the time for BS police claims etc. Ghetto lottery much?

 

[Flash]

A Black North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of raping a prominent white woman has been awarded a historic $25 million settlement more than three years after he was exonerated.

Ronnie Long, 68, settled his civil lawsuit with the city of Concord, about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, for $22 million, the city said in a news release Tuesday. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation had previously settled for $3 million, according to Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic.

The clinic, which represented Long, said the settlement is the second largest wrongful conviction settlement recorded.

"It’s, obviously, a celebratory day today knowing that Ronnie’s going to have his means met for the rest of his life with this settlement. It’s been a long road to get to this point so that’s a great outcome," clinical professor Jamie Lau, Long's criminal attorney, said in a phone interview Tuesday.

"Have we found justice in this case? Absolutely not. No amount of money will ever compensate Ronnie for all that he lost, but this is a big step forward for him," Lau said.

The city also issued a rare public apology to Long.

"We are deeply remorseful for the past wrongs that caused tremendous harm to Mr. Long, his family, friends and our community. Mr. Long suffered the extraordinary loss of his freedom and a substantial portion of his life because of this conviction," the city said. "He wrongly served 44 years, 3 months and 17 days in prison for a crime he did not commit."

They said there was no physical evidence tying Long to the rape and burglary and he did not match the original description of the suspect — a "yellow or really light-skinned Black male." A rape kit collected at the hospital and provided to Concord police went missing and has never been found, Long's attorneys said.

They said the prosecution’s main piece of evidence was the victim identifying Long weeks after the attack and it was "the product of a suggestive identification procedure arranged by the police to target Long."

There were also numerous pieces of evidence from the scene, including suspect hair and 43 fingerprints, that could have helped exonerate him, according to his attorneys. The evidence, which they said did not belong to Long, was tested by investigators but not disclosed. The attorneys also accused Concord police officers of giving false testimony about the evidence at Long's trial.

MSN

www.msn.com

44yrs for a crime you didn't commit and all it took was a white woman to say, "He did it".

Why isn't the false accuser being locked up for 44yrs? What does she have to pay?

Why aren't the crooked ass cops being prosecuted?

Why isn't the crooked ass prosecutor being prosecuted?

You want to talk about a 2 tier Justice System, this is a fine example of it.

I don't know why they gave the SOB a settlement.

If he was a Negro then he committed crimes that he was not in jail for and he woud have committed more crimes had he not been in jail.