Posted by The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Friday vacated Maurice Hastings, 69,’s murder conviction after it was found that he had been wrongfully imprisoned for the 1983 kidnapping and murder of Roberta Wydermyer, 30, in the city of Inglewood.
Since his arrest, Hastings has maintained his innocence.
Dist. Atty. George Gascón declared in a statement that what occurred to Mr. Hastings was “a horrific injustice.
” “The legal system is not perfect, and when we become aware of fresh information that makes us doubt a conviction, it is our duty to act promptly.”
“I’m not blaming anyone. Hastings stated at a news conference, “I’m not standing up here a bitter man.
But all I want to do is enjoy my life as it is. And I simply want to proceed.
According to the district attorney, the victim’s postmortem included a sexual assault examination by the coroner, and semen was found in an oral swab.
Hastings requested DNA testing in 2000, but the DA’s office rejected the request at the time.
Hastings submitted an innocence claim to the district attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit last year, and DNA testing conducted in June revealed that the semen was not his and referred to a different person, who authorities claim passed away in 2020.