Sandra Hemme Released After 43 Years in Prison for Wrongful 1980 Murder Conviction

Jul 20, 2024, 01:58 AM

A 64-year-old woman, Sandra Hemme, who served 43 years in prison for a 1980 murder of a library worker she did not commit, has been released. Missouri’s highest court overruled an effort to keep her incarcerated, even though her conviction was overturned in June after new evidence established her innocence. Despite attempts by Missouri’s attorney general to keep her behind bars, a judge ordered her release and threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt if they continued to oppose it. Hemme, who had been serving a life sentence, left prison in Chillicothe on Friday.