California man who spent 38 years in prison for murder is freed after DNA evidence points to different person
CBSN
A man who spent more than 38 years behind bars for a 1983 murder and two attempted murders has been released from a California prison after long-untested DNA evidence pointed to a different person, the Los Angeles County district attorney said Friday.
The conviction of Maurice Hastings, 69, and a life sentence were vacated during an Oct. 20 court hearing at the request of prosecutors and his lawyers from the Los Angeles Innocence Project at California State University, Los Angeles.
"I prayed for many years that this day would come," Hastings said at a news conference Friday, adding: "I am not pointing fingers; I am not standing up here a bitter man, but I just want to enjoy my life now while I have it."
Probationary workers across multiple federal health agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services received virtually identical letters Saturday evening informing them they would be terminated from their positions, sources told CBS News.
It was Sept. 18, 2003 when Justine Vanderschoot's remains were discovered in a remote location more than two weeks after she disappeared. But it's in the garden outside her bedroom window where her parents Don and Lynnette still come to find her.
This story previously aired on Feb. 10, 2024. It was updated on Feb. 15, 2025. AMIE HARWICK (video): You can seek therapy to address an issue like depression, anxiety, a breakup. You can also seek therapy to be a better you! GARETH PURSEHOUSE (voicemail): I have so much I need to say. Please give me a chance to just say it. … Please (crying) please.
A team of President Trump's advisers are expected to meet with Russian officials next week to begin peace negotiations over the war in Ukraine, two U.S. government officials familiar with the details told CBS News Saturday.
Signaling a major shift in civil rights enforcement, the federal agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws has moved to dismiss six of its own cases on behalf of workers alleging gender identity discrimination, arguing that the cases now conflict with President Donald Trump's recent executive order, court documents say.
A New York man was arrested Friday in the cold case killing of a trans performer 15 years after her apartment was set on fire, the Brooklyn District Attorney announced in a news statement.
President Trump toured a Boeing airplane to check out new hardware and technology features and highlight the aircraft maker's delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, the White House said Saturday.
Ohio's health department confirmed Saturday that a farmer in the state was discharged from the hospital after being sickened by bird flu, marking the fourth American to have been hospitalized with the H5N1 virus.
In the wooded outskirts of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a perplexed landlord noticed odd sights at two of his rental properties.
Wendy's Frosty's is a beloved treat — and a new addition to the lineup will combine the familiar frozen dairy dessert with a beloved Girl Scout cookie.
A civil lawsuit accusing rap moguls Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 has been dropped by the accuser, according to documents filed in federal court in New York on Friday.
One week after President Trump fired the head of the National Archives and Records Administration, the second-in-command, the deputy archivist, has informed colleagues of his intent to retire, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to CBS News Friday.
Probational federal employees who lost their jobs on Thursday as part of the Trump administration's mass firing of government workers expressed shock and anger at the terminations, which they contend will hurt the government's ability to provide services.