Man who spent 38 years in prison awarded massive payout after wrongful conviction

A man has been awarded a massive payout in what his solicitors have dubbed the "largest wrongful conviction settlement in state history".

Maurice Hastings, 72, was wrongfully convicted and given a life sentence without parole for the 1983 sexual assault and murder of Roberta Wydermyer, who was killed by a single gunshot to the head.

Two officers from the Inglewood Police Department and an investigator from the Los Angeles District Attorney's office at the time were accused of setting up Hastings.

Hastings consistently maintained his innocence, resulting in a protracted legal struggle.

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He languished in a California prison for 38 years, but has now been awarded $25 million. The settlement was finalised in August, with court documents released on Monday revealing the details.

"No amount of money could ever restore the 38 years of my life that were stolen from me," Hastings expressed in a statement. "But this settlement is a welcome end to a very long road, and I look forward to moving on with my life."

The finer points of the settlement remain confidential, reports the Mirror US.

At the time of the victim's post-mortem examination, a sexual assault test was carried out, the district attorney's office noted. Biological samples from the assailant were retrieved.

Hastings requested DNA testing of the evidence in 2000. The DA's office rejected the request. Hastings submitted a claim of innocence to the DA's Conviction Integrity Unit in 2021. The DNA testing revealed that the semen wasn't Hastings'.

In 2022, at the age of 69, Hastings' conviction was overturned at the request of prosecutors and his solicitors. The DNA was matched to an individual who had been convicted of a separate armed kidnapping and rape of a female victim who was placed in a vehicle's boot, similar to Wydermyer's killing.

The suspect, Kenneth Packnett, was arrested within three weeks after the 1983 murder in connection with an unrelated car theft, Hastings' solicitors said.

Police discovered jewellery and a coin purse that matched Wydermyer's belongings at the time of murder however Packnett wasn't investigated for her murder at the time.

Paknett died in 2020, imprisoned on a separate sentence, according to prosecutors. In 2023 a California judge ruled that Hastings was "factually innocent."

He now lives in Southern California, where he is an active member of his church, according to his barristers.

"Police departments throughout California and across the country should take notice that there is a steep price to pay for allowing such egregious misconduct on their watch," Nick Brustin, a barrister for Hastings, said.