Current:Home > NewsMissouri Supreme Court clears way for release of woman imprisoned for library worker's 1980 murder-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Missouri Supreme Court clears way for release of woman imprisoned for library worker's 1980 murder
View Date:2025-01-13 17:03:35
The Missouri Supreme Court has cleared the way for the release of a Missouri woman whose murder conviction was overturned after she served 43 years in prison, but she still remained in custody as of Thursday evening.
Sandra Hemme's lawyers say Republian Attorney General Andrew Bailey's Office's is disregarding the ruling and is directing the Department of Corrections not to release Hemme, CBS affiliate KCTV reported.
A circuit court judge ruled last month that 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.
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 appeared imminent after the Missouri Supreme Court refused to undo lower court rulings that allowed 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. One of her attorneys, Sean O'Brien, filed a motion Thursday asking that a judge "hold an emergency status conference at the earliest possible time" and order Hemme's release.
Hemme's lawyers, in an emailed statement to The Associated Press, said her family "is eager and ready to reunite with her, and the Department of Corrections should respect and promptly" release her.
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.
"Police exploited her mental illness and coerced her into making false statements while she was sedated and being treated with antipsychotic medication," the Innocence Project said. "The only evidence that ever connected Ms. Hemme to the crime was her own unreliable and false confessions: statements taken from her while she was being treated at the state psychiatric hospital and forcibly given medication literally designed to overpower her will."
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."
- In:
- Wrongful Convictions
- Missouri
veryGood! (25)
Related
- Jeep slashes 2025 Grand Cherokee prices
- 1000-Lb. Sisters' Tammy Slaton Shares New Glimpse at Weight Loss Transformation
- South Carolina mechanics discover giant boa constrictor in car engine and are working to find it a home
- Cher accused of hiring four men to kidnap son Elijah Blue Allman, his estranged wife claims
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay takes subtle shot at Jets quarterback Zach Wilson
- Owner had pulled own child out of Bronx day care over fentanyl concerns: Sources
- Powerball jackpot at $850 million for Sept. 27 drawing. See Wednesday's winning numbers.
- 1 dead, 2 children injured in wrong-way crash; driver suspected of DWI: Reports
- Taylor Swift has power to swing the presidential election. What if nothing else matters?
Ranking
- 'Full House' star Dave Coulier diagnosed with stage 3 cancer
- Why this week’s mass exodus from embattled Nagorno-Karabakh reflects decades of animosity
- In need of an iPhone 15 charging cable? Here's how to find the best USB-C charger cord
- Watch Live: Top House Republicans outline basis for Biden impeachment inquiry in first hearing
- New York nursing home operator accused of neglect settles with state for $45M
- House Speaker McCarthy is back to square one as the Senate pushes ahead to avert a federal shutdown
- California passes slate of LGBTQ protections
- Volcanic supercontinent could erase the human race in 250 million years, study says
Recommendation
-
Judge moves to slash $38 million verdict in New Hampshire youth center abuse case
-
Cheese lovers rejoice: The CurderBurger is coming back to Culver's menu for a limited time
-
Heist of $1.5 Million Buddha Statue Leads to Arrest in Los Angeles
-
Drive a Hyundai or Kia? See if your car is one of the nearly 3.4 million under recall for fire risks
-
Arizona Supreme Court declines emergency request to extend ballot ‘curing’ deadline
-
Dozens of people arrested in Philadelphia after stores are ransacked across the city
-
Suspect Jason Billingsley arrested in murder of Baltimore tech CEO Pava LaPere
-
A woman is suing McDonald's after being burned by hot coffee. It's not the first time