Los Angeles, California – Maurice Hastings, who spent nearly four decades behind bars for a murder he did not commit, has been awarded a $25 million settlement after being fully exonerated by DNA evidence.

Hastings was convicted in 1983 for the murder of Roberta Wydermyer in Inglewood. Despite consistently maintaining his innocence, he remained imprisoned for 38 years while his requests for advanced DNA testing were repeatedly denied.

In 2021, the Los Angeles Innocence Project took up his case and successfully pushed for new DNA testing using modern forensic technology. The results conclusively proved Hastings was not responsible for the crime and identified another individual — a previously convicted offender — as the person linked to the evidence.

Hastings was officially exonerated in 2022 and declared factually innocent in 2023. Following his release, he filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging serious investigative failures that led to his wrongful conviction.

The $25 million settlement represents one of the largest awards for a wrongful conviction in California history. After the ruling, Hastings expressed relief and gratitude, finally receiving justice after a lifetime of fighting to prove his innocence.

His case highlights the critical role of DNA evidence and innocence organizations in correcting long-standing miscarriages of justice. Hastings, who entered prison as a young man, is now working to rebuild his life after losing 38 irreplaceable years to a flawed conviction.