A Missouri woman, Sandra Hemme, who has spent over 40 years in prison for a murder she and her supporters believe she did not commit, will receive an evidentiary hearing that may lead to her release. The Missouri attorney general’s office has agreed to hold the hearing for Hemme, who was convicted of the 1980 murder of Patricia Jeschke, a library worker in St. Joseph. The Innocence Project, representing Hemme, filed a petition in February seeking her exoneration, stating that Hemme’s mental illness was exploited by the police, resulting in false statements.
Hemme’s attorneys argue that the only evidence linking her to Jeschke’s death consists of contradictory and factually impossible statements she made while hospitalized at the St. Joseph State Hospital’s psychiatric ward. Initially, Hemme did not mention the murder, later claiming that Jeschke was killed by a man who was later found to be in Topeka at the time. She then attributed her knowledge of the murder to extrasensory perception. The attorney general’s office acknowledges that Hemme’s attorneys have presented potentially exculpatory facts.
Sandra Hemme initially pleaded guilty to capital murder but had her conviction overturned on appeal. In 1985, she was found guilty in a one-day jury trial solely based on her “confession.” The Innocence Project alleges that crucial evidence implicating a St. Joseph police officer, who was investigated for insurance fraud and burglaries and later spent time in prison, was withheld during Hemme’s trial. The officer had used the victim’s credit card shortly after her death, and her earrings were found in his apartment. The attorney general’s office, known for opposing wrongful conviction motions, has agreed to the evidentiary hearing for Hemme.
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