In the United States, an inmate wrongly accused of rape was released on Thursday after 44 years in prison. According to the ABC News account, Ronnie Long was convicted in 1976. Earlier this week, US justice conceded that his constitutional rights had been violated during his trial.
Ronnie Long is now a free man after being wrongfully convicted of rape 44 years ago pic.twitter.com/0N1nreJF8H
- Russ Bowen (@RussBowenWNCN) August 27, 2020At the time, the one who was only a young man of 20 had been sentenced to an 80-year prison sentence, inflicted by a jury made up entirely of whites, for the murder of a notable in his town of North Carolina. This, despite the lack of incriminating evidence.
On a website created to ask for his release, the man claims to have been convicted because of his skin color. “Everything has always played out against me, no matter what type of evidence I had against the prosecution,” he points out. I had to go to jail. I had been chosen and I would go. "
"Loved and supported"
In 2005, his lawyers had discovered new scientific elements likely to exonerate him. The inmate says he found the strength to live his incarceration through the faith and love of his family. “It felt good to feel loved and supported,” he says.
At nearly 65, he was welcomed with open arms by his relatives upon his release from prison on Thursday. "They will never lock me up again, ever, ever," he hammered. His wife, whom he married in 2014, launched a fundraising campaign to help him in his transition to his life as a free man, raising nearly 10,000 euros.
