Inmate waiting 40 years finally gets appeal hearing. But COVID-19 may shut down court Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Charlotte Observer

More than halfway through an 80-year sentence for a rape he says he didn’t commit, Ronnie Long has received what may be his last best chance for freedom: a hearing before the full Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Monday, the majority of the judges on the country’s second highest court voted to hear Long’s arguments that his 44-year-old conviction in North Carolina should be thrown out.

While they cheered the decision, Long’s attorneys said their client faces a more immediate threat: the coronavirus.