Governor pardons five innocent prisoners including one who spent 44 years behind bars

Roy Cooper says he took action so former convicts ‘might be better able to move forward in their lives’

Governor pardons five innocent prisoners including one who spend 44 years behind bars (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The governor of North Carolina granted pardons to five men convicted of crimes they did not commit, including one man who spent 44 years behind bars.

Governor Roy Cooper said he took action so the men “might be better able to move forward in their lives.”

Ronnie Wallace Long, 64, was released from prison earlier this year after serving more than four decades on a wrongful rape conviction.

Mr Long, who is black, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of rape and burglary in 1976.

His conviction was vacated after a judge found evidence from the crime scene had not matched Mr Long but had been withheld by law enforcement.

"It's been a long road," Mr Long said when his conviction was vacated in federal court.

"But it's over with. It's over with now."

Mr Cooper also pardoned Teddy Lamont Isbell Sr, Damian Miguel Mills, Kenneth Manzi Kagonyera and Larry Jerome Williams Jr.

They had pleaded guilty to charges ranging from robbery to second-degree murder but were later found not guilty of the crimes.

All five pardoned men are now eligible to file a claim for compensation from the state.