By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A former St. Joseph State Hospital mental patient, incarcerated for the past 43 years for a 1980 St. Joseph murder, could soon be free.
The Missouri Supreme Court has cleared the way for the release of Sandra Hemme from the Chillicothe women’s prison.
Livingston County Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman earlier found there is credible evidence of Hemme’s innocence. An appeals court agreed and ruled Hemme should be released while the case is under review.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey objected to her release and pressed his case before the Missouri Supreme Court, but Hemme’s attorneys argued that keeping her incarcerated any longer would be a “draconian outcome.”
The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the lower court ruling that would allow her to be placed in the custody of her sister in Higginsville.
Hemme is now 64. She has been serving life in prison after her conviction in the death of St. Joseph State Hospital librarian Patricia Jeschke. Judge Horsman, though, found evidence in the case points to her actual innocence, stating she is a victim of a manifest injustice. Hemme confessed to the crime, but evidence implicated Michael Holman, a St. Joseph police officer fired from the force. Holman died in 2015.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.