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A woman who was jailed for 43 years for a murder she did not commit has been freed after her conviction was overturned.
In November 1980, Sandra Hemme, then 20, was convicted of stabbing to death Patricia Jeschke, a library worker in St. Joseph, Missouri. She was sentenced to life in prison.
A review of her case found no evidence linking her to the crime other than a confession she made while under deep sedation in a psychiatric hospital.
At 64, she is the longest-serving wrongfully convicted woman in U.S. history, according to her spokesman.
The Innocence Project’s legal team said they were grateful that Ms. Heim was finally reunited with her family and that they would “continue to work hard” to clear her name.
Although she is no longer incarcerated, her case remains under review.
Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman The original 118-page ruling On 14 June, the court overturned her conviction, saying Ms Hemme’s lawyers had clear evidence proving her innocence, including evidence that was not presented to her defence team at the time.
Judge Horsman concluded: “This court finds that all the evidence supports a verdict of not guilty.”
The review found that local police ignored evidence pointing directly to one of their own officers, Michael Holman, who was later jailed for another crime and died in 2015.
Holman’s truck was seen in the area on the day of the murder, his alibi could not be proven, and he claimed to have found Patricia Jeske’s credit card in a ditch and used it.
Ms. Jeske’s father also recognized a unique pair of gold earrings from the Holman family home.
The review said none of this was disclosed to Ms Hemme’s defence team at the time.
After being forcibly committed to a psychiatric hospital, Ms Helm, who had been receiving sporadic psychiatric treatment since she was 12, was repeatedly interrogated by police while taking antipsychotic drugs and powerful sedatives.
Court documents show she gave “monotonous” responses and “did not fully understand what was happening,” could barely hold her head up at times and was in pain from muscle spasms — a side effect of the medication.
Judge Horsman’s review noted there was no forensic evidence linking Ms Helm to the murder. She had no motive and no witnesses linked her to the crime.
Sandra Haim was finally released from prison on Friday. Kansas City Star reports She will live with her sister.
After her release, she reunited with her family at a nearby park and hugged her sister, daughter and granddaughter.
Her father has been hospitalized and is receiving hospice care this week, and her legal team said she plans to visit him soon.
Defense attorney Sean O’Brien told The Star she still needs help because she has spent much of her life in prison and is not eligible for Social Security.
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