A man who spent 44 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in 1976 has reached a historic $25 million combined settlement in a civil lawsuit in the U.S
Ronnie Long, 68, received $22 million from the city and $3 million from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, according to one of his lawyers
In a written public apology to Mr Long on Tuesday, the Concord City Council said: “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 & a substantial portion of his life because of this conviction
He wrongly served 44 years, 3 months and 17 days in prison. While there are no measures to fully restore to Mr. Long & his family all that was taken from them, through this agreement we are doing everything in our power to right the past wrongs and take responsibility.”