A man who lost 44 years of his life has finally delivered on a promise he made a 'racist' cop the day he was sent to prison.
In 1976, Ronnie Long was arrested and charged for raping a white woman, Sarah Bost, with an all-white jury finding him guilty.
He was sentenced to life in prison, with no hope of release.
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But in 2021, new evidence came to light that proved Ronnie, who was then 65-years-old, was in fact innocent.
After a long legal battle, Ronnie managed to finally clear his name, immediately taking the the city of Concord, North Carolina, to court.
And this week, it was revealed the 68-year-old had been awarded the second-largest wrongful conviction settlement ever.
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Following a deal of $3m from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Concord agreed a payout of an additional $23m for Ronnie.
The victory also means Ronnie has finally been able to deliver on a promise he made a 'racist' police officer 50 years ago.
Speaking to LADbible, Ronnie said he always remembered what the 'hillbilly Klan' police officer said to him as he arrived at prison.
"It was early Saturday morning, about three or four o'clock in the morning, I'd been in court at about 12.30am that night," he told us.
"A riot had broken out in the court room, people started fighting, and the judge said, 'Lock that door, lock that door, get that man, I want that man in Raleigh (Central Prison) tonight'.
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"That night, they had me in the station wagon and took me up the highway, flying.
"When I get to Central Prison, this is what this hillbilly Klan said to me, 'Yo, n****r, look to your right. That's Central Prison, that's your home for the rest of your life. You think you're tough? Well, they're gonna show you what tough is behind them walls. You won't be back'."
But Ronnie had some words for him, too.
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"This is what I told him, 'If I come back, which I will, all I want you to do is be breathing, that's all I want you to do. All I want is you to be breathing, I don't care if you're on a respirator or if you're crippled and can't see. I'm going to take everything you've got for what you're doing to me right now,'" he recalled.
"He thought it was a joke, but I'm here. I don't know if he's alive today, I haven't even tried to pursue him. But his name is going to show up as one of those defendants in those federal suits.
"So when I say, 'I'm gonna be back and take everything you've got', this s*** is real."
Turns out he is a man of his word.
Featured Image Credit: Ronnie Long/USA TOdayTopics: Crime, True Crime, US News, Money