Sandra Hemme

Sandra Hemme's federal lawsuit accuses St. Joseph Police of suppressing and destroying evidence that pointed to a fellow officer who was guilty of the 1980 murder. Before being freed last year, Hemme served the longest sentence of any wrongly convicted woman in American history.

Sandra Hemme was freed from prison after 43 years for a murder she didn't commit, and her case illustrates how difficult it is to correct errors in the criminal justice system. That's especially true in Missouri, where the attorney general's office aggressively opposes innocence claims regardless of the evidence.

Freed after more than 43 years in prison, Sandra Hemme’s story illustrates how difficult it is to correct errors when the criminal justice system gets it wrong. In Missouri, the challenge is complicated by an attorney general's office that opposes innocence claims regardless of the evidence.

Sandra Hemme spent 43 years in a Missouri prison for a murder she did not commit. But her case should help others wrongfully convicted win their freedom, because the judges directly addressed the issue of false confessions.

Sandra Hemme spent 43 years in a Missouri prison for a murder she did not commit. Some estimates suggest that a false confession played a role in almost a third of wrongful murder convictions.

In June, a judge overturned Hemme’s conviction for the 1980 murder of a librarian from St. Joseph, Missouri. After five months of legal battles, the same judge signed the final order granting her freedom.

For the first time in more than four decades, Sandra Hemme may get to spend Thanksgiving with her family — not in prison. Hemme was wrongly convicted of murdering a St. Joseph librarian in 1980, but a Missouri judge overturned the charges this year.

The Missouri Court of Appeals Tuesday rejected all arguments from state Attorney General Andrew Bailey to return Hemme to prison. Hemme served 43 years in prison — more time than any other wrongly convicted woman in the U.S.

The Missouri Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Wednesday in the innocence case of Sandra Hemme, who served 43 years in prison — more time than any other wrongly convicted woman in the U.S.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey fought for nearly a month to keep Hemme behind bars, after her 1980 murder conviction was overturned in June. Almost from the moment she walked out of prison, she has been with her father in the hospital.

Missouri state law promises $100 a day for each day of life lost to prison on a wrongful conviction. For Sandra Hemme, who was first convicted in 1981, that’s roughly $1.6 million — which some critics say is too little for more than four decades behind bars.

Sandra Hemme has spent 43 years in Missouri prison for a grisly 1980 murder that her lawyers say was actually committed by a police officer. A judge overturned her conviction last week, but the Missouri Attorney General is seeking to block her from being freed.