At 72, Maurice Hastings can now restart his life after spending 38 years behind bars in California. Hastings was awarded $25 million in what his legal team calls the largest wrongful settlement in the state’s history.

The Associated Press notes that although the settlement was technically reached in August, documents surrounding the case were made public on Monday.

​“No amount of money could ever restore the 38 years of my life that were stolen from me,” Hastings said in a public statement. “But this settlement is a welcome end to a very long road, and I look forward to moving on with my life. I thank God that I’ve made it to the other side of this decades-long ordeal, and I thank my family and legal team for their steadfast support over the years.”

Hastings was only 31 when he was wrongly arrested in 1983 for the murder and carjacking of Roberta Wydermyer and the attempted murders of her husband, Billy Wydermyer, and his friend, George Pinson.

According to court records and his lawsuit, Inglewood Police detective Grant Price was alleged to target Hastings; evidence of his innocence was buried, while witnesses were reportedly coerced into pointing the finger at him.

For decades, Hastings begged to have DNA from the crime tested, but his requests were repeatedly denied. Nearly 40 years later, with the support of the Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP), forensic science finally set him free.

DNA from the crime scene was matched with known sex offender Kenneth Packnett, who police had in custody just weeks after the original murder but never investigated.

He was exonerated in 2022 at 69. 

“This historic settlement is a powerful vindication for Mr. Hastings, who has shown remarkable fortitude first in fighting to prove his innocence, and then in showing that he was framed,” said Nick Brustin, a partner of Hastings' legal team, NSBHF. “Police departments throughout California and across the country should take notice that there is a steep price to pay for allowing such egregious misconduct on their watch.”