{"id":558549,"date":"2023-03-02T14:07:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T11:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/man-wrongly-imprisoned-for-38-years-declared-innocent\/"},"modified":"2023-03-02T14:07:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T11:07:35","slug":"man-wrongly-imprisoned-for-38-years-declared-innocent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/man-wrongly-imprisoned-for-38-years-declared-innocent\/","title":{"rendered":"#Man wrongly imprisoned for 38 years declared innocent"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29109017881\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29109017881\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/man-wrongly-imprisoned-for-38-years-declared-innocent\/#Man_wrongly_imprisoned_for_38_years_declared_innocent\" >Man wrongly imprisoned for 38 years declared innocent<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Man_wrongly_imprisoned_for_38_years_declared_innocent\"><\/span>Man wrongly imprisoned for 38 years declared innocent<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\" style=\"max-height: 828px\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container\" style=\"padding-bottom:67%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img has-preview\" alt=\"Maurice Hastings appears at a court in Los Angeles where a judge officially found him to be factually innocent on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (J. Emilio Flores\/Cal State LA News Service via AP, Pool)\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/g2NyjqjIVn5D_2wq6lbH_g--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/916a80baeba28dd18d1199f91276d3c2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">Maurice Hastings <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears at a court in Los Angeles where a judge officially found him to be factually innocent on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (J. Emilio Flores\/Cal State LA <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> Service via AP, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 A man who spent more than 38 years behind bars for a 1983 murder he did not commit was declared innocent by a judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Maurice Hastings was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-los-angeles-e12697ac9bfb9d45dc114463c7c24f78\" data-ylk=\"slk:released from prison last year;cpos:1;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">released from prison last year<\/a> after long-untested DNA evidence pointed to a different suspect. The judge in October vacated Hastings&#8217; conviction at the request of prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney\u2019s Office and his lawyers from the Los Angeles Innocence Project.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors and Hastings&#8217; lawyers returned to court to ask Judge William C. Ryan to take the additional step and declare him innocent of the killing 40 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>The judge\u2019s Wednesday declaration of Hastings as \u201cfactually innocent\u201d means the evidence proves conclusively that Hastings did not commit the crime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means a lot. I\u2019m grateful for the judge\u2019s ruling, and the apologies \u2014 everything has been wonderful today,\u201d Hastings said after the hearing, according to the Los Angeles Innocence Project. \u201cI\u2019m ready to move on with my life. I\u2019m a happy man today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n said Hastings \u201csurvived a nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe spent nearly four decades in prison exhausting every avenue to prove his innocence while being repeatedly denied,\u201d Gasc\u00f3n said in a statement. \u201cBut Mr. Hastings has remained steadfast and faithful that one day he would hear a judge proclaim his innocence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gasc\u00f3n said the ruling will clear Hastings\u2019 name and pave the way for him to seek possible relief in connection with his wrongful conviction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DA\u2019s office had sought the death penalty<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The victim in the case, Roberta Wydermyer, was sexually assaulted and killed by a single gunshot to the head, authorities said. Her body was found in the trunk of her vehicle in the city of Inglewood near Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>Hastings was charged with special-circumstance murder, and the district attorney\u2019s office sought the death penalty, but the jury deadlocked. A second jury convicted him, and he was sentenced in 1988 to life in prison without possibility of parole.<\/p>\n<p>Hastings maintained he was innocent since his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of the victim\u2019s autopsy, the coroner conducted a sexual assault examination, and semen was detected in an oral swab, the district attorney\u2019s office said in October.<\/p>\n<p>Hastings sought DNA testing in 2000, but at that time, the DA\u2019s office denied the request. Hastings submitted a claim of innocence to the DA\u2019s Conviction Integrity Unit in 2021, and DNA testing last June found that the semen was not his.<\/p>\n<p>The DNA profile was put into a state database and matched to a person who was convicted of an armed kidnapping and forced copulation of a female victim who was placed in a vehicle\u2019s trunk. The suspect, Kenneth Packnett, died in prison in 2020, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n<p>Hastings, who was 69 years old when he walked out of prison last October, told reporters at the time that he had prayed the day of his freedom would come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not standing up here a bitter man, but I just want to enjoy my life now while I have it,\u201d Hastings said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/la-man-imprisoned-decades-declared-110735591.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Man wrongly imprisoned for 38 years declared innocent Maurice Hastings appears at a court in Los Angeles where a judge officially found him to be factually innocent on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (J. Emilio Flores\/Cal State LA News Service via AP, Pool) LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 A man who spent more than 38 years behind&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":558550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/hzqBTq7HZExu4xp8vAvrhg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04MDA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/916a80baeba28dd18d1199f91276d3c2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-558549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}