Sandra Hemme case: Woman who served 43 years in prison freed after conviction overturned
A woman whose murder conviction was overturned after she served 43 years in prison was released Friday, after Missouri’s attorney general fought for more than a month to keep her behind bars.
CHILLICOTHE, Mo. — A woman whose murder conviction was overturned after she served 43 years in prison was released Friday, after Missouri’s attorney general fought for more than a month to keep her behind bars.
Sandra Hemme, 63, left prison Friday in Chillicothe, hours after a judge threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt if they continued to fight against her release. She reunited with her family at a nearby park, where she hugged her daughter and granddaughter. Her sister, Joyce Ann Kays, was all grins.
The judge originally ruled on June 14 that Hemme’s attorneys had established “clear and convincing evidence” of “actual innocence” and overturned the conviction. But Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey fought her release in the courts.
Sandra Hemme.Missouri Department of Corrections via APDuring a court hearing Friday, Judge Ryan Horsman said that if Hemme wasn’t released by a designated time, he wanted Bailey himself to appear in court Tuesday morning, and he threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt.
He also scolded Bailey’s office for calling the warden and telling prison officials not to release Hemme after an appeals court panel said she could be released. “I would suggest you never do that,” Horsman said, adding: “To call someone and tell them to disregard a court order is wrong.”
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