The American judiciary dropped the conviction of a Missouri woman after the judge found “clear and convincing” evidence of her innocence of committing murder, after she was imprisoned for more than 40 years for murder.
Sandra Sandy Hemme was convicted in 1980 of the murder of Patricia Jeschke, a library worker in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was sentenced to life imprisonment after she made self-incriminating statements to police at a time when she was suffering from psychological disorders.
Livingston County Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman confirmed that "direct evidence" indicated that Jeschke was killed by a local police officer who later went to prison for other crimes and later died.
The judge announced that Hemi, who has spent the past 43 years behind bars and is now 63 years old, should be released within 30 days unless the prosecution decides to retry her.
In his ruling issued on Friday, the judge stated that there was no evidence at all linking Hemi to the crime other than her “unreliable” statements, adding that those statements were obtained “while she was suffering from a psychological crisis and physical pain.”
The court also found that the evidence directly linked Holman to the crime scene and the killing.
The judge revealed that prosecutors during the case more than 4 decades ago did not disclose evidence that would have helped Hemi's defense and that her lawyer at trial was "below professional standards."
The ruling came after an evidentiary hearing held last January during which Hemi's legal team presented arguments supporting her innocence.
Hemi's lawyers said her prison term represents the longest known wrongful conviction of a woman in US history .
Her lawyers added in a statement: “We are grateful to the court for recognizing the grave injustice that Ms. Hime has suffered for more than four decades.”
Hemi initially pleaded guilty to premeditated murder in exchange for avoiding the death penalty, but her conviction was overturned on appeal, according to the Associated Press.
She was convicted again in 1985 after a one-day trial, and the only evidence against her at the time was her “confession.”
In a 147-page petition, the lawyers said that authorities at the time ignored Hemi's "wildly contradictory" and "factually impossible" statements while she was suffering from mental illness.
The lawyers stated that Hemi, who was 20 years old at the time of the crime, was receiving treatment for auditory hallucinations, unconsciousness, and drug abuse when the police targeted her.
They added that during a series of interviews lasting hours, Hemi made conflicting statements about the murder while being treated with antipsychotic medication.
“At times, she received such intense treatment that she was unable to even lift her head and was tied to a chair,” they wrote.
Investigators noted that Hemi appeared "mentally disoriented" and unable to fully understand investigators' questions, while Steven Foyston, a retired St. Joseph Police Department detective, testified that he stopped one interview because she "didn't seem completely coherent."
Hemi's lawyers considered that her mental illness was exploited and she was forced to make untrue statements while being drugged and treated with antipsychotic medications.
They also reported that authorities at the time ignored evidence implicating Michael Holman, then a 22-year-old police officer, who had tried to use the victim's credit card.
Holman's car was seen near the crime scene, and a pair of earrings that were identified by Jeschke's father were found in his possession.
Holman was a suspect who was being questioned at the time, but many of the details he revealed during his interrogation were never provided to Hemi's lawyers.
Holman was investigated for insurance fraud and burglary, served time in prison, and then died in 2015.
People should not be wrongly convicted.
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