Ronnie Long (left) walks out of prison in August 2020.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has granted a pardon to Ronnie Long, reaffirming Long s innocence and making him eligible for up to $750,000 in restitution for the decades he spent in prison for a rape he did not commit.
The pardon was issued Thursday in the first series of pardons to come from the governor s office since Cooper took office in 2017.
His wife recorded the moment Ronnie long found out he would be pardoned. @wcncpic.twitter.com/Dv2RULydLC MichelleBoudin (@MichelleBoudin) December 17, 2020 Today is a day for celebration. We re elated for Ronnie, said Long s attorney, Jamie Lau. When I broke the news to him that he was receiving a pardon today, he was elated and ran through the parking lot from the video that I received from his wife.