Post by mhbruin on Oct 29, 2022 8:11:20 GMT -8
What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
Of Course, He Is Black
A US man who spent nearly four decades in prison for murder has been released after new DNA evidence pointed to a different person.
Maurice Hastings served more than 38 years in state prison for the 1983 murder of Roberta Wydermyer in California and two attempted murders.
But new DNA evidence instead pointed to another man who died in prison in 2020.
Now 69, Mr Hastings has been released from prison after his 1988 conviction was vacated on 20 October.
LA County District Attorney George Gascón described his conviction as a "terrible injustice".
"The justice system is not perfect, and when we learn of new evidence which causes us to lose confidence in a conviction, it is our obligation to act swiftly," he added in a statement.
Roberta Wydermyer was found in the boot of her car with a single gunshot wound to the head in 1983. She had earlier been sexually assaulted.
Mr Hastings was subsequently charged with murder and prosecutors sought the death penalty.
After a hung jury, a second jury convicted him and he was sentenced in 1988 to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.
At the time of the victim's autopsy, semen was detected in an oral swab. Mr Hastings had maintained his innocence from the moment he was arrested, but a request for DNA testing of the swab in 2000 was denied by the district attorney.
One Freed, 35 To Go
The oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was released and “reunited with his family” in Pakistan, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday.
Saifullah Paracha, 75, had been held on suspicion of ties to Al Qaeda since 2003, but he was never charged with a crime during the more than 17 years he was detained at the U.S. base in Cuba, according to Reprieve, a legal charity that represents him and has campaigned for his release.
Almost 800 men and boys have been unlawfully detained at Guantanamo since it was opened by the Bush White House in 2002, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. This has not been confirmed by government officials.
The ACLU also alleges that many detainees were subjected to torture and other brutal treatment. NBC News cannot verify these claims.
Following Paracha’s release, 35 detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay and 18 have been cleared for release, according to Amnesty International. NBC News has not confirmed this information.
Of Course, He Is Black
A US man who spent nearly four decades in prison for murder has been released after new DNA evidence pointed to a different person.
Maurice Hastings served more than 38 years in state prison for the 1983 murder of Roberta Wydermyer in California and two attempted murders.
But new DNA evidence instead pointed to another man who died in prison in 2020.
Now 69, Mr Hastings has been released from prison after his 1988 conviction was vacated on 20 October.
LA County District Attorney George Gascón described his conviction as a "terrible injustice".
"The justice system is not perfect, and when we learn of new evidence which causes us to lose confidence in a conviction, it is our obligation to act swiftly," he added in a statement.
Roberta Wydermyer was found in the boot of her car with a single gunshot wound to the head in 1983. She had earlier been sexually assaulted.
Mr Hastings was subsequently charged with murder and prosecutors sought the death penalty.
After a hung jury, a second jury convicted him and he was sentenced in 1988 to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.
At the time of the victim's autopsy, semen was detected in an oral swab. Mr Hastings had maintained his innocence from the moment he was arrested, but a request for DNA testing of the swab in 2000 was denied by the district attorney.
One Freed, 35 To Go
The oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was released and “reunited with his family” in Pakistan, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday.
Saifullah Paracha, 75, had been held on suspicion of ties to Al Qaeda since 2003, but he was never charged with a crime during the more than 17 years he was detained at the U.S. base in Cuba, according to Reprieve, a legal charity that represents him and has campaigned for his release.
Almost 800 men and boys have been unlawfully detained at Guantanamo since it was opened by the Bush White House in 2002, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. This has not been confirmed by government officials.
The ACLU also alleges that many detainees were subjected to torture and other brutal treatment. NBC News cannot verify these claims.
Following Paracha’s release, 35 detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay and 18 have been cleared for release, according to Amnesty International. NBC News has not confirmed this information.
