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Maurice Hastings was released from a California prison after serving 38 years behind bars for a wrongful conviction involving a 1983 murder and two attempted murders.
Maurice Hastings, 69, sentenced to life without parole in 1988, was exonerated after DNA evidence cleared him of a crime committed by another inmate who died in 2020. It should be noted that the DNA test was finally allowed into evidence years after it was initially denied in 2000.
Maurice Hastings was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Roberta Wydermyer, who was assaulted and killed by a single gunshot to the head in 1983. Authorities said that the victim's body was found in the trunk of her vehicle in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood.
Hastings' release comes after attorneys from the Los Angeles Innocence Project at California State University submitted a request for the conviction to be overturned during a court hearing held on October 20, 2022.
Maurice Hastings was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1988
Maurice Hastings, incarcerated for almost four decades, maintained his innocence in the murder of Roberta Wydermyer, who was found in the boot of her car with a single gunshot wound to the head in 1983. Authorities said autopsy results revealed that the victim was assaulted before being fatally shot.
Hastings was arrested months after the murder, after which prosecutors sought the death penalty. The prosecution's request was denied by the first jury, whose verdicts resulted in a deadlock, prompting a second trial.
A second jury convicted Hastings of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1988. However, in the ensuing years, Hastings remained resolute in his fight to prove his innocence.
Two decades after Hastings' DNA request was denied by the district attorney, he was able to submit his case to the DA's Conviction Integrity Unit in 2021. The unit conducted a DNA test in June and found that evidence that included the deceased victim's oral swab did not match Hastings.
However, the DNA was a positive match for an unidentified inanimate who reportedly died while serving time for kidnapping and assault.
Maurice Hastings issues statement after his prison release
In a press conference on Friday, October 29 Hastings said that he was not resentful of his wrongful conviction.
He mentioned:
“I am not pointing fingers; I am not standing up here a bitter man, but I just want to enjoy my life now while I have it.”
Shortly after Hastings' release, District Attorney George Gascón commented on the lengthy prison sentence that the system could have averted with rapid decisions.
The statement read:
"What has happened to Mr Hastings is a terrible injustice. The justice system is not perfect, and when we learn of new evidence that causes us to lose confidence in a conviction, it is our obligation to act swiftly."
Gascon apologized to Hastings for the unavailability of DNA evidence at the time to prevent his incarceration.
