A US man who had been imprisoned for nearly four decades for murder was released after new DNA evidence pointed to a different person.
Maurice Hastings was sentenced to more than 38 years in state prison for the 1983 murder of Roberta Wydermyer and two attempted murders in California.
However, new DNA evidence pointed to another man who died in prison in 2020.
Mr Hastings, now 69, was released from prison on October 20 after his 1988 conviction was overturned.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón called his conviction a “terrible injustice.”
“The justice system is not perfect, and it is our obligation to act quickly when we learn of new evidence that causes us to lose confidence in a conviction,” he added.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón called his conviction a “terrible injustice.”
“The justice system is not perfect, and it is our obligation to act quickly when we learn of new evidence that causes us to lose confidence in a conviction,” he said in a statement.
In 1983, Roberta Wydermyer was discovered in the trunk of her car with a single gunshot wound to the head. She had previously been sexually assaulted.
Mr Hastings was later charged with murder, and prosecutors requested the death penalty.
Following a hung jury, he was convicted by a second jury and sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole in 1988.
Semen was discovered in an oral swab during the victim’s autopsy. Mr Hastings had maintained his innocence since his arrest, but the district attorney denied a request for DNA testing of the swab in 2000.
In 2021, he was able to file a claim of innocence with the District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, and DNA testing in June revealed that the sperm was not his.
Instead, the DNA profile matched a man convicted of armed kidnapping in which he placed his female victim in the trunk of a vehicle.
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Mr Hastings told reporters after a court hearing to vacate his conviction on October 20 that he wasn’t bitter and wanted to enjoy the rest of his life.
“I prayed for many years that this day would come,” Mr Hastings told the Associated Press. “I’m not pointing fingers; I’m not a bitter man standing here, but I just want to enjoy my life now while I have it.”
Source: BBC
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