Current:Home > InvestMissouri high court clears the way for a woman’s release after 43 years in prison -Stellar Wealth Sphere
Missouri high court clears the way for a woman’s release after 43 years in prison
View
Date:2025-04-12 10:59:24
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for a Missouri woman whose murder conviction was overturned to be freed after 43 years in prison.
A circuit court judge ruled last month that Sandra Hemme’s attorneys showed evidence of her “actual innocence,” and an appeals court ruled she should be freed while her case is reviewed.
But Hemme’s immediate freedom has been complicated by lengthy sentences she received for crimes she committed while behind bars — a total of 12 years, which were piled on top of the life sentence she received for her murder conviction.
Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey took his fight to keep her locked up to the state’s highest court, but her attorneys argued that keeping her incarcerated any longer would be a “draconian outcome.”
Her release appears imminent, however, now that the Missouri Supreme Court court has refused to undo the lower court rulings allowing her to be released on her own recognizance and placed in the custody of her sister and brother-in-law in the Missouri town of Higginsville.
No details have been released on when Hemme will be freed.
Hemme, now 64, had been serving a life sentence at a prison northeast of Kansas City after she was twice convicted of murder in the death of library worker Patricia Jeschke.
She’s been the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman known in the U.S., according to her legal team at the Innocence Project.
“This Court finds that the totality of the evidence supports a finding of actual innocence,” Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman concluded after an extensive review.
Horsman noted that Hemme was heavily sedated and in a “malleable mental state” when investigators repeatedly questioned her in a psychiatric hospital. Her attorneys described her ultimate confession as “often monosyllabic responses to leading questions.” Other than this confession, no evidence linked her to the crime, her trial prosecutor said.
The St. Joseph Police Department, meanwhile, ignored evidence pointing to Michael Holman — a fellow officer, who died in 2015 — and the prosecution wasn’t told about FBI results that could have cleared her, so it was never disclosed before her trials, the judge found.
“This Court finds that the evidence shows that Ms. Hemme’s statements to police are so unreliable and that the evidence pointing to Michael Holman as the perpetrator of the crime so objective and probative that no reasonable juror would find Ms. Hemme guilty,” Horsman concluded in his 118-page ruling. “She is the victim of a manifest injustice.”
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Russian woman convicted after leaving note on grave of Putin's parents: You raised a freak and a killer
- Volcanic activity on Venus spotted in radar images, scientists say
- The Masked Singer: A WWE Star and a Beloved Actress Are Revealed
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- He logged trending Twitter topics for a year. Here's what he learned
- 'Forspoken' Review: A portal into a world without wonder or heart
- TikTok's Taylor Frankie Paul Shares Update on Her Mental Health Journey After Arrest
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Sophia Culpo and NFL Player Braxton Berrios Break Up After 2 Years of Dating
Ranking
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Should We 'Pause' AI?
- Author Who Inspired Mean Girls Threatens Legal Action Over Lack of Compensation
- Strut Your Stuff At Graduation With These Gorgeous $30-And-Under Dresses
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Dad of 12 Nick Cannon Regrets Not Having a Baby With Christina Milian
- Musk's Twitter has dissolved its Trust and Safety Council
- Princess Diana's Niece Lady Amelia Spencer Marries Greg Mallett in Fairytale South Africa Wedding
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
Researchers watch and worry as balloons are blasted from the sky
Drew Barrymore Shares Her Under $25 Beauty Must-Haves That Make Every Day Pretty
Nick Lachey Ordered to Take Anger Management Classes After Paparazzi Incident
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Lea Michele's 2-Year-Old Son Ever Leo Hospitalized for Scary Health Issue
NPR's most anticipated video games of 2023
Radio Host Jeffrey Vandergrift Found Dead One Month After Going Missing