By Michelle Ndaga
Maurice Hastings, a 72-year-old California man who spent 38 years in prison for a murder and sexual assault he did not commit, has been awarded $25 million, the largest wrongful-conviction settlement in the state’s history.
Hastings was convicted in 1988 of the 1983 killing of Roberta Wydermyer and sentenced to life without parole.
For decades, he maintained his innocence, repeatedly requesting DNA testing of evidence collected during the autopsy requests that were initially denied.
In 2021, Hastings filed a claim of innocence with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which allowed for new DNA testing.
The results showed that the biological evidence did not match Hastings but instead matched Kenneth Packnett, a man with a prior criminal record who died in prison in 2020.
Hastings’s conviction was vacated in 2022, and he was declared “factually innocent” the following year.
Speaking after the settlement, Hastings said no amount of money could return the decades he lost behind bars, but he expressed gratitude that justice had finally been served.
He now lives in Southern California and is active in his church community.
Legal experts say the case highlights the critical importance of post-conviction DNA testing and independent conviction review units in preventing wrongful imprisonment.
Source: Associated Press, ABC News
