Maurice Hastings spent 38 years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit. He's finally free.
According to the D.A., Wydermyer's body was"found in the trunk of her vehicle and the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to her head." There was evidence of sexual assault. She was 30 andBecause of those circumstances, prosecutors initially sought the death penalty for Hastings, but after a jury deadlocked the first time around, a second trial led to his life sentence without possibility of parole.
Paula Mitchell, who heads the Los Angeles Innocence Project, said his case shows the dangers of a legal system that allows for the death penalty.“Had the jury imposed a death sentence instead of life without the possibility of parole, Mr. Hastings may not have lived to see this day,” Mitchell said. “The possibility that an innocent person could be executed is real. Our criminal justice system simply has too much room for error, as this case demonstrates.