Man Awarded $25 Million After 38 Years Wrongfully Imprisoned for Murder

Maurice Hastings, 72, has received what his legal team is calling the “largest wrongful conviction settlement in state history” after spending nearly four decades behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

Hastings was wrongfully convicted of the 1983 sexual assault and murder of Roberta Wydermyer, who was killed by a single gunshot to the head. At the time, two officers from the Inglewood Police Department and an investigator from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office were accused of framing him.

Despite maintaining his innocence throughout, Hastings languished in prison for 38 years. “No amount of money could ever restore the 38 years of my life that were stolen from me,” Hastings said. “But this settlement is a welcome end to a very long road, and I look forward to moving on with my life.”

Hastings’ legal battle took decades. In 2000, he requested DNA testing of evidence from the case, which the DA’s office initially rejected. It wasn’t until 2021, after submitting a claim of innocence to the Conviction Integrity Unit, that testing finally revealed the semen did not belong to Hastings.

The DNA was instead matched to Kenneth Packnett, who had been convicted of a separate armed kidnapping and rape. Packnett, who died in prison in 2020, had been arrested in 1983 for an unrelated car theft, during which authorities discovered jewelry and a coin purse matching Wydermyer’s belongings. At the time, he was not investigated for her murder.

In 2022, prosecutors requested Hastings’ conviction be overturned. A California judge ruled him “factually innocent” in 2023, officially ending his 38-year fight for justice.

Hastings now lives in Southern California and is an active member of his church. His attorney, Nick Brustin, warned, “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.”

The settlement, finalized in August, amounts to $25 million, though some details remain confidential.