An attorney who worked to free Sandra Hemme of a 1980 St. Joseph murder conviction said Hemme looks forward to celebrating Christmas at home for the first time in 43 years.
Six months after Livingston County Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman found Hemme innocent and ordered her released from the Chillicothe women’s prison, all appeals have been dropped and no new prosecution will be sought against Hemme in the 1980 murder of Patricia Jeschke of St. Joseph.
Senior Staff Attorney, Jane Pucher, with the Innocence Project, said the criminal justice system failed Hemme, now 64, in many ways, especially since evidence pointing to a corrupt former St. Joseph police officer was never disclosed to Hemme’s attorneys.
“To have very strong evidence of someone else who committed this crime, but never got heard by any court and never got brought forward, is also a failing,” Pucher told Missourinet affiliate KFEQ Radio in St. Joseph, from her office in New York. “She is so grateful to be where she is now and I know wants to focus on the future, but she was failed on all of these different fronts and more from very early in her life.”
Hemme confessed to the murder of Jeschke in November of 1980.
A judge threw out her first conviction. Then, a Buchanan County jury convicted Hemme in June of 1985 after a one-day trial, based solely on her confession. Hemme was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years.
Judge Horsman ruled in June of this year that the statements made by Hemme to police were unreliable and that the evidence pointed to Michael Holman, a St. Joseph police officer at the time. Holman’s pickup was parked outside Jeschke’s apartment the night of the murder. Holman used Jeschke’s credit card after her death and claimed he had found her purse in a ditch. Other evidence tied Holman to the murder.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey appealed the decision. The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District upheld Horsman’s ruling.
The appellate court stated it might never be known why the St. Joseph Police Department ignored or suppressed evidence against Holman, but speculated it was either out of embarrassment that one of its own had committed murder or embarrassment that it had extracted a false confession from Hemme. St. Joseph news media reported in 1981 allegations had surfaced that the St. Joseph Police Department covered up an FBI report that connected Holman to the murder. No evidence suggesting Holman as the suspect was ever turned over to Hemme’s defense attorney.
The court ruled Hemme be released unless the state or Buchanan County moved to retry her.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office confirmed the litigation has concluded. Buchanan County Prosecutor, Michelle Davidson, stated in an email to KFEQ, “After a careful review of the case our office decided not to refile charges against Ms. Hemme.”
Pucher said this case confirms what we know, that the system can make really serious mistakes.
“And Sandra for all that she has experienced, I would never say that she’s fortunate because she has experienced so much pain and trauma. It’s unthinkable, but she is at least where she is now.” Pucher said. “And there are many people who aren’t and who never will have their convictions be overturned, will never be able to get back to court to challenge them meaningfully, will never be able to be reunited with their families.”
The big question that hangs over this case is how could this happen?
“It’s a question I don’t have a great answer for to be honest with you,” Pucher replied. “We work in an imperfect system and one where especially people who are vulnerable like Sandy was in the most extreme way are very at risk.”
Judge Horsman’s 118-page ruling disclosed that Hemme’s records reflected a history of mental illness beginning in early childhood. Hemme had been treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) as a child. Hemme had sought admission to the St. Joseph State Mental Hospital a few days before the murder, seeking help for her use of amphetamines. She was discharged against medical advice. Horsman found Hemme “highly vulnerable” to make false statements due to her drug use.
Pucher said that vulnerability led to her false confession. The Innocence Project said Hemme was held in prison for the longest period of time for any wrongly-convicted woman in the United States.
As for the present, Pucher said Hemme has settled in at home.
“Sandy’s doing really well,” Pucher said. “She is continuing to live with her family and I think just really appreciating the quiet moments, the moments that so many us take for granted.”
By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph
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