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$25.75 Million for Exonerated North Carolina Prisoner’s 44 Stolen Years
Loaded on March 1, 2025
published in Prison Legal News
March, 2025, page 17
Justice delayed is justice denied. But for Ronnie Long, 68, who served over four decades in North Carolina prisons for a rape and burglary that he didn’t commit, the long wait to be proven innocent and released from prison came with a satisfyingly large price tag for those who …
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More from this issue:
- Pay-for-Play Tablets: The Costly New Prison Paradigm
- No Evacuations for Los Angeles Prisoners in Wildfire’s Path
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Number of Texas Detainees Jailed Out-of-County Doubled in Five Years
- Nebraska Supreme Court Spanks Attorney General, Orders Felons Be Allowed to Vote
- Ninth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Arizona Prisoner’s Heat-Related Death
- Warden, Top Deputy Walked Off the Job at “Wild West” Missouri Prison
- Crime Down But Incarceration Up In Tennessee
- Michigan Judge Sued for Jailing Teen Who Nodded Off While Watching in Court
- Four Escapes in Eight Months from Oklahoma Jail
- Virginia Parole Board Skirts New Transparency Rules, Governor Walks Back Expanded Sentence Credits—Again
- Ninth Circuit Remands Transgender Idaho Prisoner’s $2.63 Million Attorney Fee Award for Recalculation— Against Bankrupt Corizon Health Successor
- $25.75 Million for Exonerated North Carolina Prisoner’s 44 Stolen Years
- Former Vermont Sheriff Takes Plea Deal in Sexual Assault Case
- Not Just Another Shared House: North Carolina Farm Eases Re-entry for Released Prisoners
- Illinois Lawmaker Asks State Prison Guards to Report Immigrant Prisoners Nearing Release—to Her
- Former California Guard Convicted On 64 Counts of Sexually Abusing Prisoners
- “Lady al-Qaeda” Sues BOP for Guards’ Sexual Assaults
- Deal to Release Cuban Prisoners Upended
- The Grift That Keeps on Giving: $33 Million for State Prisons Generated by Seized Native Land
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Denial of Counsel for “Low IQ” North Carolina Prisoner, by Anthony Accurso
- $100,000 Settlement Reached in New York Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Suit, After Jury for First Time Finds Practice Violates Eighth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
- “Happy Mother’s Day”: $1,353,000 Settlement Approved for Migrant Parents Separated from Minor Kids at Border, by Matthew Clarke
- Minnesota High Court Restores Voting Rights of Former Felons
- Released Palestinian Detainees Allege Abuse in Israeli Prisons
- Over 100,000 Criminal Records Sealed Under Colorado’s “Clean Slate Act”
- Ninth and Tenth Circuits Find Bivens Extension Orders Not Immediately Appealable, by Sam Rutherford
- ABA Highlights Ohio Prisoner’s Successful Transition to Lawyer
- HRDC Files Suit Over Censorship in California Jail
- Suboxone Manufacturer’s Delayed-Release Buprenorphine Injections Show Promise at Maine Jail
- DOJ Finds “Horrific and Inhumane” Conditions in Georgia Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup
- Biden Clemencies Include Imprisoned Native American Activist, “Kids for Cash” Judge
- Rhode Island Prison Chief Wrist-Slapped for Ethics Violation
- U.S. Justice Department Investigating Tennessee CoreCivic Prison After Mother of Murdered Prisoner Reaches Settlement
- Trump Tosses Toothless Biden Private Prison “Ban”
- Federal Withdrawal of Single-Drug Execution Protocol Follows Challenges in Indiana, Arizona
- Sixth West Virginia Jailer Found Guilty After Detainee Death, Estate Dismisses Claims Against PrimeCare Medical Employees
- $10.5 Million in Settlements for San Diego Jail Detainee’s Severe Brain Injury
- Settlement Bars Family Separations at U.S. Border Until 2031, Pays $6.4 Million in Legal Fees and Costs
- Trans Federal Prisoner in Massachusetts Wins Temporary Halt to Trump Order Removing Her From Women’s Lockup
- Pennsylvania County Forgives $65 Million in Jail Pay-to-Stay Fees
- Failures Brought to Light in Arizona Prison System’s COVID-19 Response
- El Salvador Offers Prison Space to Private Prison Shill Marco Rubio
- Houston Police Fire Former Jail Guard Filmed Brutalizing Detainees, Charges Against Three Other Guards Dropped
- Hawaii Supreme Court Revives Exonerated Prisoner’s Quest for First Payout From Wrongful Conviction Fund
- South Carolina Prison Guard Supervisor Pleads Guilty to Smuggling, Bribery
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $6.4 Million Jury Award Against Corizon Nurses For Michigan Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Alcohol Withdrawal, by Matthew Clarke
- En Banc Fifth Circuit Reverses Panel, Holds Mississippi Felon Disenfranchisement Does Not Violate Eighth Amendment, by Matthew Clarke
- More Unsealed PrimeCare Settlements Total $1.2 Million for Pennsylvania Jail Deaths
- Federal Charges Dropped Against Former Centurion Exec After Death of Co-Defendant Former Tennessee Prison Official
- $1.5 Million Settlement For In-Custody Injury by New York Police
- ‘Eye Opening’ Self-Harm Found in Washington DOC Solitary Confinement
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Denial of Class Certification in Suit Over Inadequate Dental Care at Chicago Jail
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Arkansas Jailers Who Ignored Detainee’s Spider Bite, by Anthony Accurso
- Washington Prisoner Sues Jail Where Assault Left Him Comatose, DOC Guard Who Then Sexually Abused Him
- Federal Court Lets BOP Withhold Mortality Reviews Under FOIA
- California Lawmakers Address CDCR’s Banned Book List
- New Mexico Settles Suit Alleging Failure To Implement Expanded Voting For Felons, by Anthony Accurso
- Could the Prison Staffing Crisis Lead to More Oversight?
- New York Guards Strike After 10 Charged in Prisoner’s Fatal Beating
- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Eyewitness Identification, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, Aug. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Certificate of Innocence, False Imprisonment, Confessions - Coerced.
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Exposure to Heat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Malpractice, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Framework Governing Factual Innocence Claims in First Application of La. C.Cr.P. Art. 926.2, Holding Second-Step Review Encompasses All Relevant Evidence, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Eyewitness Identification, Brady Rule violations.
- Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, DNA Evidence, Evidence - Admissibility, Claim of Innocence.
- Jury Awards Over $24.4 Million to Kentucky Prisoner Exonerated After 22 Years, Bringing Total Payout for Him and Co-Defendant to Almost $45 Million, June 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Monell Liability, Fabrication of Evidence, Failure to Disclose.

