Wrongly convicted woman freed after 43 years behind bars

Sandra Hemme was 20 years old when, in November 1980, she was found guilty of killing library worker Patricia Jeschke from St. Joseph, Missouri. She was sentenced to life in prison. On Friday, after 43 years in prison, she was released, reports BBC.

According to the court, the 64-year-old woman served the longest known wrongful conviction sentence in U.S. history. An analysis of her case revealed that there was no evidence connecting her to the crime other than her confession, made in a psychiatric hospital where she had been placed by the police and was under the influence of strong medication.

The 118-page ruling by District Court Judge Ryan Horsman overturning her conviction was released on June 14.

It stated that the police withheld clear evidence of her innocence and did not provide it to the suspect's defense attorneys.

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

Holman's car was seen in the area on the day of the murder, his alibi was not verified, and he used Patricia Jeschke's credit card, claiming he found it in a ditch. A pair of distinctive gold earrings Ms. Jeschke's father identified were also found in Holman's home. According to the court's report, none of this information was disclosed to the defense team then.

Ms. Hemme was repeatedly questioned by the police while under the influence of antipsychotic drugs and strong sedatives after being involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. Since the age of 12, she had been sporadically treated for psychiatric issues.

Her responses were "one-syllable," and she was "not fully aware of what was happening," according to court documents. Sometimes, she could barely hold her head up and experienced pain caused by muscle cramps, a side effect of the medication.

In his ruling, Judge Horsman noted that no forensic evidence linked Ms. Hemme to the murder. She had no motive, and no witnesses connected her to the crime.

Sandra Hemme finally left prison on Friday and will live with her sister, the local newspaper, the Kansas City Star, reported.