Wrongfully convicted of murder, US woman freed after 43 years: Report

Sandra Hemme, was 20 years old when she was wrongfully convicted of murdering a library worker called Patricia Jeschke. She was freed after 43 years.

A US woman called Sandra Hemme, who was in prison for 43 years, was released after a judge overturned her conviction, BBC reported.

In November 1980, 20-year-old Hemme was given a life sentence after she was found guilty of stabbing a library worker called Patricia Jeschke to death in St Joseph, Missouri.

The only evidence against Hemme was a confession she had given in a psychiatric hospital under heavy sedation.

Hemme is believed to have served the longest known wrongful conviction of a woman in US history according to her representatives, as per the report.

Though she is no longer incarcerated, her case is still being reviewed. Her legal team, from the Innocence Project, said that they are grateful that Hemme could finally reunite with her family and also vowed to “continue to fight” to clear her name.

On June 14, her conviction was overturned by the Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman. His original 118-page ruling said Ms Hemme’s lawyers had clear proof of her innocence, including evidence that was not given to her defence team at the time.

"This court finds that the totality of the evidence supports a finding of actual innocence," Judge Horsman said.

Upon review it was found that local police had ignored evidence that incriminated one of their own officers called Michael Holman. Holman later went to prison for another crime and died in 2015.

Holman’s truck was seen in the area the day Jeschke was murdered and his alibi could not be corroborated. Moreover, he used Patricia Jeschke’s credit card after claiming he found it in a ditch, the report stated.

Jeschke’s father also identified a pair of gold earrings that were found in Holman’s home.

Hemme’s defence team was not aware of any of this information at the time, the review said.

Sandra Hemme was finally released on July 19, and the article states that she will live with her sister.

After her release she was reunited with her sister, daughter and granddaughter.

She also plans to visit her father who is hospitalised and is receiving palliative care.