An innocent man who spent nearly four decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit will finally see justice, though nothing can return the years he lost.
Maurice Hastings, 72, has been awarded $25 million in what his lawyers describe as the largest wrongful conviction settlement in California’s history. The agreement was finalized in August but only became public this week through newly released court documents.
Hastings was convicted in 1983 and sentenced to life without parole for the sexual assault and murder of 30-year-old Roberta Wydermyer, who was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. For years, Hastings insisted on his innocence, but his pleas were ignored as he remained locked away.
The lawsuit accused two Inglewood Police Department officers and a Los Angeles District Attorney’s investigator of framing Hastings for the crime.
“No amount of money could ever restore the 38 years of my life that were stolen from me,” Hastings said in a statement following the settlement. “But this settlement is a welcome end to a very long road, and I look forward to moving on with my life.”
The road to justice was long and filled with missed opportunities. At the time of the victim’s autopsy, a sexual assault exam collected biological evidence from the perpetrator. Hastings requested DNA testing of that evidence back in 2000, but the DA’s office denied the request.
It wasn’t until 2021, when Hastings submitted a claim of innocence to the DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit, that the evidence was finally tested. DNA analysis proved the semen was not his. In 2022, after nearly four decades behind bars, Hastings’ conviction was vacated at the request of both prosecutors and his attorneys.
He was 69 years old when he was released.
Photo Credit: Los Angeles Innocence Project
