Wrongly Convicted Woman Who Spent Decades Behind Bars Officially Free After Missouri Stops Trying to Overturn Exoneration

The longest-incarcerated wrongly convicted woman in U.S. history who spent more than four decades behind bars is officially free after Missouri stopped trying to overturn her exoneration.

Sandra Hemme is officially free after Missouri courts and prosecutors concluded their legal challenges to her exoneration, five months after a judge overturned her 1985 murder conviction, according to KCUR.

In 1985, Hemme was convicted for the 1980 murder of librarian Patricia Jeschke in St. Joseph, Missouri, based on questionable evidence and a coerced confession while under heavy antipsychotic medication.

Decades later, her attorneys from the Innocence Project uncovered withheld evidence implicating disgraced former police officer Michael Holman, who died in 2015, in the crime.

In June 2024, Livingston County Judge Ryan Horsman overturned Hemme's conviction, citing "clear and convincing evidence" of her innocence.

Despite Hemme's exoneration in June, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey fiercely contested her release, delaying her freedom for months. Legal battles culminated in October when the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.

Last week, prosecutors let their deadline to refile charges pass. Judge Horsman issued an order on December 3, 2024, for Hemme's unconditional release.

Hemme, now 64, was released after spending 43 years behind bars since her arrest as a 21-year-old.