A man who spent more than three decades in prison for a murder and two attempted murders has been freed after new evidence pointed to someone else.
The life sentence and conviction of Maurice Hastings was thrown out during a court hearing in October.
Hastings said at the news conference that he was not pointing fingers, but he just wanted to enjoy his life now that he had it.
George Gascn said that the case of Mr. Hastings was a terrible injustice. When new evidence causes us to lose confidence in a conviction, it's our duty to act quickly.
The victim in the case, Roberta Wydermyer, was murdered by a single gunshot to the head. She was found dead in the trunk of her car.
The district attorney's office tried to get the death penalty for Hastings, but the jury couldn't reach a decision. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a second jury found him guilty.
Since his arrest, Hastings has maintained that he was not guilty.
According to the district attorney's statement, semen was found in an oral sample during the autopsy of the victim.
The office of the district attorney denied Hastings' request for a DNA test in 2000. Hastings submitted a claim of innocence last year, but the semen was not his.
A person who was convicted of an armed kidnapping in which a female victim was placed in a vehicle's trunk as well as the forced oral copulation of a woman was matched to the person with the DNA profile.
The person died in prison in 2020.
The dead person's involvement is being investigated by the district attorney's office.
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