On Tuesday, a Missouri appellate court upheld a lower court’s decision to overturn the murder conviction of a woman who had been imprisoned for 43 years. Her attorneys contend that the crime was actually committed by a discredited police officer.
Sandra Hemme was released in July while her conviction reversal was under review, despite Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s insistence that she should stay in prison.
In a harsh 71-page ruling, Presiding Judge Cynthia Martin stated that some of the arguments made by Bailey’s office were “bordering on the absurd” and ordered prosecutors to refile charges within 10 days.
“It is time for this miscarriage of justice to end,” Hemme’s attorneys said in a statement following the ruling in the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District.
According to her legal team at the Innocence Project, Hemme was the longest-serving wrongfully incarcerated woman in the United States.
A spokesperson for Bailey did not respond right away to an email from The Associated Press requesting a comment. At the time she was first interrogated about the 1980 murder of 31-year-old library worker Patricia Jeschke in St. Joseph, Hemme was receiving heavy doses of antipsychotic medication.
During an October hearing, one of her attorneys, Sean O’Brien, referred to the drugs as a “chemical straightjacket” and expressed concerns about the validity of her eventual confession.
He said, “It makes her compliant. It makes her subject to susceptibility.” O’Brien also highlighted evidence that was kept from the court, implicating Michael Holman, a former police officer who passed away in 2015. This evidence indicated that Holman’s pickup truck was spotted outside Jeschke’s apartment, that he attempted to use her credit card, and that her earrings were found in his residence.
The appellate court stated that the record “strongly suggests” that police ignored leads related to Holman. This conclusion was echoed in June when Judge Ryan Horsman from Livingston County overturned Hemme’s conviction, finding that her attorney had presented “clear and convincing evidence” of her “actual innocence.”
However, Bailey requested the appellate court to review this decision, arguing that Horsman had overstepped his authority and that Hemme had not provided enough evidence for some of her claims. A month-long legal battle ensued regarding whether she should be released during the review process.
A circuit judge, an appellate court, and the Missouri Supreme Court all agreed she should be freed, yet she remained incarcerated as Bailey contended that she still had time left to serve for old prison assault cases.
Hemme was finally released only after Judge Horsman threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt. During the most recent hearing in October, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clarke faced intense questioning. One appellate court judge expressed particular concern over the fact that Holman, the discredited police officer, could not be excluded as the source of a palm print found on a TV antenna cable near the victim’s body.
Although the FBI requested clearer prints, the police failed to follow up, and the jurors were never informed about this or other crucial evidence because the police did not communicate it to the prosecutors. In response to inquiries about the importance of the suppressed evidence, Clarke stated that the court must assess its potential value in a future trial and whether it would undermine confidence in the previous verdict. Clarke argued that some of the contested evidence might not have been admissible in court, a claim that raised skepticism among the judges.
Bailey has a track record of opposing cases where convictions have been overturned. For instance, in July, a St. Louis circuit judge overturned Christopher Dunn’s murder conviction and ordered his immediate release. Key evidence used to convict him included testimony from two boys who later recanted, claiming they had been pressured by police and prosecutors. Bailey appealed in an attempt to keep Dunn imprisoned before he was ultimately released.
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