The Missouri Supreme Court has paved the way for the release of a Missouri woman whose murder conviction was overturned after serving 43 years in prison. Sandra Hemme, now 64, had been serving a life sentence for the murder of library worker Patricia Jeschke. However, a circuit court judge ruled last month that Hemme's attorneys presented evidence of her 'actual innocence,' leading to an appeals court decision to free her while her case is under review.
Despite the favorable rulings, Hemme's immediate release has been complicated by additional sentences totaling 12 years for crimes committed while in prison. The state's Attorney General sought to keep her incarcerated, but the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the lower court rulings allowing her release on her own recognizance into the custody of her sister and brother-in-law in Higginsville, Missouri.
