After serving 43 years in prison, a woman in Missouri, Sandra Hemme, was finally released on Friday. Her murder conviction was overturned, but the state’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey, fought for her release for more than a month. Hemme, now 63, reunited with her family in Chillicothe, where she was welcomed by her sister, daughter, and granddaughter.
The judge’s ruling in June established that there was clear and convincing evidence of Hemme’s actual innocence, leading to the reversal of her conviction. However, Bailey continued to oppose her release, with the judge threatening to hold his office in contempt if they continued to fight against it. Eventually, Hemme was released before 6 p.m. CDT on Friday.
Hemme’s attorney, Sean O’Brien, expressed frustration at the difficulty of freeing an innocent person after multiple court orders were initially ignored by the attorney general’s office. While Hemme’s immediate freedom was granted, there are still struggles ahead, as she won’t be eligible for social security due to her prolonged incarceration.
Despite evidence pointing to another suspect, Michael Holman, who was a fellow police officer, the prosecution failed to disclose this information before Hemme’s trials. The judge ultimately deemed Hemme as a victim of manifest injustice and her release was justified after multiple court decisions in her favor. Bailey’s actions to keep her behind bars despite evidence of her innocence have stirred controversy and left legal experts puzzled.
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