Man declared innocent after serving 38 years in prison for murder he didn’t commit

A Los Angeles man, Maurice Hastings, who was wrongfully convicted of a 1983 robbery-homicide and sexual assault, has been declared innocent by a California judge.

Hastings regained his freedom after a Los Angeles County Superior Court, Judge William C. Ryan, formally declared him factually innocent and cleared the arrest and prosecution from his criminal record during a hearing last week, according to a news release from California State University, Los Angeles, on Monday.

Hastings, now 69, was freed from prison in October after DNA from the 1983 attack identified another suspect but he has continued the battle to clear his name.

He had been serving a life sentence for the crime despite the fact that witnesses supported his alibi during the time of the murder and no physical evidence linked him to the scene, according to the Los Angeles Innocence Project.

An oral swab from a sexual assault kit collected shortly after the attack was finally tested in June 2022, and a DNA test conclusively ruled out Hastings and pointed instead to Kenneth Packnett, who died in 2020 while serving a prison sentence for kidnapping and rape.

During the hearing, Deputy District Attorney, Martha Carrillo, issued Hastings a “long overdue apology” on behalf of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

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“I am sorry, very sorry, for the injustice, the great injustice, that my office and the criminal justice system perpetrated upon you. There’s a lot to be learned from that,” she said.

“We are humbled by that lesson and we’ll take it to heart. I know that it’s not enough to say ‘I’m sorry,’ for 38 years in prison, and I realize that, and I’m humbled,” Carrilo added.

While reacting to the situation, Hastings said:

“It means a lot. I’m grateful for the judge’s ruling, and the apologies, everything has been wonderful today,” Hastings said during a news conference after the ruling.

“I’m ready to move forward with my life. I’m a happy man right now. A lot of trials. But you know, it’s all worth it right now. Now I feel vindicated.

“As time goes on, I’ll look to do some other things that give back to people,” he said.

With his record cleared, Hastings wants to focus on “enjoying life,” he said. He’s currently participating in an entrepreneurship boot camp and performing outreach with homeless communities.

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