Maurice Hastings, Innocent Man Who Spent 38 Years Behind Bars, Awarded $25 Million In Largest Wrongful Convictic Settlement In California History

Maurice Hastings, Innocent Man Who Spent 38 Years Behind Bars, Awarded $25 Million In Largest Wrongful Convictic Settlement In California History

Maurice Hastings, who spent nearly four decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, has been awarded $25 million, marking the largest wrongful conviction settlement in California.

 

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Hastings was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1983 s3xual a$$ault and murder of Roberta Wydermyer. His conviction was overturned in 2022 after DNA evidence cleared him and pointed to another man.

Now 72, Hastings touched on the lost time after spending years behind bars. “No amount of money could ever restore the 38 years of my life that were stolen from me,” he said in a statement, adding, “But this settlement is a welcome end to a very long road, and I look forward to moving on with my life.” His case is seen as a major milestone in #California’s history of wrongful convictions, underscoring both the devastating impact of flawed prosecutions and the importance of post-conviction DNA testing.