Ronnie Long’s story is a tragic tale of injustice and prosecutorial misconduct. In 1976, he was convicted of a crime he did not commit in Concord, North Carolina, and spent 44 years in prison.

Fortunately, Long was recently released after a review of his case. While the city will be paying a hefty settlement, it will not bring back the years in which he was wrongfully deprived of his freedom. This story is a frightening example of prosecutorial misconduct that often goes unnoticed.

Long, a black man, was falsely convicted of raping a white woman.

Long, now 68, received two life sentences following a trial where an all-White jury in Cabarrus County, Concord, found him guilty of burglary and raping Sarah Judson Bost, then 54, at knifepoint in her home on the evening of April 25, 1976. Long was 21 at the time.

However, Long never committed the crimes, and in August 2020, a federal appeals court ordered a new hearing for Long in his effort to obtain relief. Almost immediately, his conviction was vacated, and Long was released from prison. Gov. Roy Cooper later that year granted him a full pardon for innocence.

Long’s attorneys, from a wrongful convictions clinic at Duke University’s law school, said that no physical evidence tied Long to the rape and burglary — and that more than 40 fingerprints collected from the scene were never shared and did not match Long’s. Semen samples also were never disclosed to the defense.

His attorneys also argued that the chief of police and county sheriff inexplicably removed nearly all the Black potential jurors from the jury pool before summonses were issued, according to Duke Law.

As part of the settlement, the city issued a public apology for its treatment of Long, who is now 68 years old.

“We are deeply remorseful for the past wrongs that caused tremendous harm to Mr. Long, his family, friends, and our community,” the city’s statement read. “While there are no measures to fully restore to Mr. Long and 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.”

Long’s attorneys explained that more than 40 fingerprints were found at the scene of the crime. None of them matched Long’s. Also, the semen samples collected were never provided to his defense attorneys, and they later disappeared. The prosecution’s case relied primarily on witness testimony, which was questionable given the lack of physical evidence. After a federal appeals court ordered a new hearing in August 2020, his conviction was vacated.

A few months later, a state commission awarded Long $750,000 — by law the state’s top compensation for victims of wrongful incarceration. He then sued in federal court in Raleigh, and in part accused Concord police officers of “extraordinary misconduct” that led to his wrongful conviction and imprisonment in violation of his civil rights.

As part of the settlement, Long also received $3 million from the State Bureau of Investigation “as a result of the SBI’s role in hiding evidence from Mr. Long and his legal team that proved his innocence,” a news release from his attorneys in the lawsuit said. An SBI spokesperson didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to an email and text seeking comment.

This case appears to have all the hallmarks of prosecutorial misconduct that undermined the principles of justice in legal proceedings.

The settlement, while considerable, cannot replace the 44 years Long lost due to egregious misconduct on the part of the authorities. His case is a stark reminder of deep-seated issues in America’s criminal justice system. Further, it accentuates the need for reform, especially when it comes to holding corrupt prosecutors accountable.

Prosecutorial misconduct is one of the worst issues in our criminal justice system largely because it is not discussed as frequently. Plenty of examples show how corrupt prosecutors abuse their authority to win convictions. These include withholding exculpatory evidence, as in Long’s case, tampering with evidence, improperly influencing witness testimony, misleading the jury or court, and several others.

Long is now free and entitled to a substantial sum of money. But many who are falsely convicted remain in prison due to the actions of government officials who are more concerned with locking people up than pursuing justice.