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Sep. 24, 2025

Wrongful conviction lawsuit ends in $25M settlement

Maurice Hastings spent nearly four decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. Now, after DNA evidence identified the real killer, the City of Inglewood has agreed to pay $25 million to settle his civil rights lawsuit.

Wrongful conviction lawsuit ends in $25M settlement
Nick Brustin of Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger

The city of Inglewood has agreed to pay $25 million to a man who was framed for murder, wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 38 years before he was exonerated by DNA evidence that also identified the real killer.

The settlement, achieved by Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger as well as Cotchett Pitre & Mccarthy LLP, was finalized as Maurice Hastings' civil case against the city was about to go to trial.

"Our hope is that the size of the ve...

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