Incredible story/ 43 years in prison for a crime she never committed, the woman in the USA is released

2024-07-21 10:42:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Incredible story/ 43 years in prison for a crime she never committed, the woman

Sandra Hemme, BBC photo

A woman who served 43 years for a murder she did not commit has been released after winning her innocence.

Sandra Hemme was 20 years old when she was found guilty of stabbing librarian Patricia Jeschke of St Joseph, Missouri, to death in November 1980. She was sentenced to life in prison.

There was no evidence linking her to the crime, except for a confession she gave under the influence of heavy sedatives in a psychiatric hospital.

Now 64, she is believed to have carried out the longest known wrongful conviction of a woman in US history, the BBC reports.

Her lawyers said they are grateful that Hemme has finally been reunited with her family and they will "continue to fight" to clear her name.

District Court Judge Ryan Horsman's original 118-page decision overturning her conviction came on June 14. He said Hemme's lawyers had clear evidence of her innocence, including evidence that was not given to her defense team at the time.

"This court finds that the totality of the evidence supports a finding of actual innocence," Judge Horsman concluded.

The review found that local police ignored evidence pointing directly to one of their officers, Michael Holman, who later went to prison for another crime and died in 2015.

Sandra Hemme (left) is released from prison after 43 years

Holman's truck was seen in the area on the day of the murder, his alibi could not be corroborated, and he used Patricia Jeschke's credit card after claiming to have found her in a ditch.

A pair of distinctive gold earrings identified by Ms. Jeschke's (the victim's) father were also found in Holman's home. Hemme was questioned by police several times under the influence of antipsychotic medication and a powerful sedative after being involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. She had been receiving psychiatric treatment on and off since she was 12 years old.

Sandra Hemme was finally released from prison on Friday, and the Kansas City Star reports that she will be living with her sister.

Her father was hospitalized and receiving palliative care this week. Her legal team said she was planning to visit him as soon as she could./ CNA