North Carolina legislation · 2025-2026 Session
North Carolina S704: The Ronnie Long No Cap Act.
Status: In committee, March 26, 2025
What the bill says
An act to support persons erroneously convicted of felonies, to be known as the ronnie long no cap act.
From the introduced text:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO SUPPORT PERSONS ERRONEOUSLY CONVICTED OF FELONIES, TO BE KNOWN AS THE RONNIE LONG NO CAP ACT. Whereas, the State of North Carolina is committed to the principles of liberty and justice, and justice necessitates compensating those who wrongfully lose their liberty; and Whereas, a price cannot be put on the loss of liberty to a wrongful conviction, including the loss of life's milestones - weddings, births, graduations, deaths, and others - that are irreplaceable; and Whereas, in addition to life's milestones, wrongfully incarcerated people often lose their formative years to incarceration, when they otherwise would be learning skills necessary to adulthood, acquiring assets, and building savings; and Whereas, North Carolina has recently seen the exoneration of men who have lost their liberty for decades to wrongful incarceration, including, among others, Ronnie Long (44 years of incarceration), Charles Ray Finch (43 years), Montoyae Dontae Sharpe (25 years), and Howard Dudley (24 years); and Whereas, the $750,000 cap on compensation resulted in wrongfully incarcerated people receiving compensation for only 15 years of the time they served for crimes they did not commit; and Whereas, North Carolina's commitment to justice requires compensating wrongfully incarcerated people for all the years lost to wrongful incarceration; and Whereas, removing the $750,000 cap on compensation would meet these demands …
Sponsors
- Burgin, Jim (R, 12) · primary sponsor
- Britt, Danny Earl (R, 24) · primary sponsor
- Meyer, Graig (D, 23) · primary sponsor
- Applewhite, Val (D, 19)
- Batch, Sydney (D, 17)
- Chitlik, Sophia (D, 22)
- Mayfield, Julie (D, 49)
- Murdock, Natalie S. (D, 20)
- Salvador, DeAndrea (D, 39)
Latest actions
- : Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
- : Passed 1st Reading
- : Filed
Subjects: NAMED LAWS, CONTRACTS, DHHS, HEALTH SERVICES, COURTS, POVERTY, PUBLIC, CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Common questions
- What is S704?
- S704 is a bill in the North Carolina Legislature (2025-2026 Session): The Ronnie Long No Cap Act.
- What does S704 do?
- In its own words: An act to support persons erroneously convicted of felonies, to be known as the ronnie long no cap act.
- What is the status of S704?
- In committee as of March 26, 2025. Latest action: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate (March 26, 2025).
- Who sponsored S704?
- Burgin, Jim (R, 12), with 8 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for S704?
- On the North Carolina Legislature website: https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S704
Source: official North Carolina record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.