Ronnie Long lost 44 years of his life because police hid evidence that proved he was innocent.
In 1976, he was arrested and charged for raping a white woman, Sarah Bost, with an all-white jury finding him guilty.
But last year, after spending more than four decades behind bars, Ronnie, now 65, was released from prison after it was found that key evidence was suppressed by the authorities.
However, his fight is not over. He is now working with his legal team to sue those responsible for his imprisonment and get the compensation he is owed.
Speaking to LADbible about his time inside and his fight for freedom, Ronnie says he will always remember what the 'hillbilly Klan' police officer said to him as he was taken to prison.
Recalling the night he was locked up, he says: "It was early Saturday morning, about three or four o'clock in the morning, I'd been in court at about 12.30am that night.
"A riot had broken out in the court room, people started fighting, and the judge said, 'Lock that door, lock that door, get that man, I want that man in Raleigh (Central Prison) tonight'.
"That night, they had me in the station wagon and took me up the highway, flying.
"When I get to Central Prison, this is what this hillbilly Klan said to me, 'Yo, n*****, look to your right. That's Central Prison, that's your home for the rest of your life. You think you're tough? Well, they're gonna show you what tough is behind them walls. You won't be back'."
But Ronnie had some words for him, too.
"This is what I told him, 'If I come back, which I will, all I want you to do is be breathing, that's all I want you to do. All I want is you to be breathing, I don't care if you're on a respirator or if you're crippled and can't see. I'm going to take everything you've got for what you're doing to me right now'.
"He thought it was a joke, but I'm here. I don't know if he's alive today, I haven't even tried to pursue him. But his name is going to show up as one of those defendants in those federal suits.
"So when I say, 'I'm gonna be back and take everything you've got', this s*** is real."
And he's working to make good on the promise he made that night.
"The state has never done anything for me," he says. "The state of North Carolina has done nothing but destroy my life.
"I'm not gonna quit, I'm not gonna quit. I'm gonna take them through the federal system, I'm not gonna try mess with these people dealing with the state, I'm gonna take these people through the federal system.
"I've got a defence team ready to go to work and we're going to work."
He added: "I laid in the penitentiary for 44 years thinking about if I got to the point, if I could ever get the ball on my side of the court.
"Now you've got to dance to my tune, because I done overcome the adversity that you put me through."
You can help Ronnie's cause by donating to his GoFundMe page here.
Featured Image Credit: LADbibleTopics: US News
Dominic Smithers