LA man wrongly imprisoned for decades declared innocent

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man who spent more than 38 years behind bars for a 1983 murder he did not commit has been declared innocent. Maurice Hastings was released from prison last year after long-untested DNA evidence matched another person. A judge vacated his conviction and life sentence in October 2022. The decision was made at the request of prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and Hastings’ lawyers from the Los Angeles Innocence Project. In 2000, he sought DNA testing of evidence found at the homicide scene. His request was rejected. Testing done this year pointed to a convicted kidnapper who died in prison in 2020.