California man awarded $25 million in wrongful-conviction settlement after 38 years

Maurice Hastings, 72, who spent 38 years in prison for the 1983 murder of Roberta Wydermyer, has been awarded $25 million in a settlement that California officials say is the largest wrongful-conviction payout in state history. The agreement was reached in August, and court documents were made public on Monday.

At the time of Wydermyer's death, Hastings was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case included allegations of misconduct by two Inglewood Police Department officers and a Los Angeles County district attorney investigator. The autopsy of Wydermyer included a sexual assault examination and the collection of bodily fluids from the perpetrator, and Hastings sought DNA testing of that evidence in 2000, but the request was denied by the DA's office. Hastings submitted a claim of innocence to the Conviction Integrity Unit in 2021, and in 2022 prosecutors vacated his conviction at the request of Hastings and his lawyers.

DNA testing conducted after Hastings's conviction showed the semen found at the scene did not match him, and the DNA profile was later linked to Kenneth Packnett, a man who was arrested in connection with a separate armed kidnapping and forced copulation case. Packnett died in prison in 2020. Packnett’s connection to Wydermyer’s death was not pursued at the time of the 1983 investigation.

In 2023, a California judge ruled Hastings was factually innocent, meaning the evidence proves he did not commit the crime. The settlement follows decades of legal wrangling, including Hastings's pursuit of DNA testing and prosecutors' eventual acknowledgment that the original conviction was unsustainable.

Details of the settlement remain largely confidential beyond the $25 million payout and a statement that the parties reached a resolution. Representatives for the defendants and the City of Inglewood did not respond to requests for comment.

"No amount of money could ever restore the 38 years of my life that were stolen from me," Hastings said in a statement. "But this settlement is a welcome end to a very long road, and I look forward to moving on with my life."

Nick Brustin, Hastings's attorney, said the case should serve as a warning to departments that egregious misconduct carries consequences.

Today Hastings lives in Southern California, where he is active in his church, his lawyers said.