Freedom is permanent for Missourian described as the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman in US

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Freedom is permanent for Missourian described as the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman in US

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Updated 6:56 PM EST, December 3, 2024

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Years of legal wrangling have come to an end for a woman who spent 43 years behind bars for a killing that her attorneys argue was committed by a discredited police officer.

A judge ruled Tuesday that Sandra Hemme can’t be retried, the final step in a tumultuous journey to making her freedom permanent. Hemme had been the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman known in the U.S., according to her legal team at the Innocence Project.

She was freed in July but under a cloud as Attorney General Andrew Bailey continued to argue that she should remain imprisoned. Last month, an appellate court found that some arguments raised by Bailey’s office bordered “on the absurd” and sided with the lower court judge that overturned her murder conviction. The ruling gave prosecutors 10 days to refile charges.

Once that time ran out, Hemme’s attorneys filed a motion seeking her “unconditional release.” They had no immediate comment on the decision to grant their request.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sandra-hemme-conviction-overturned-f35a0193a449d6a6fe047016c4399f7b

[Picaro]

1. Perhaps Andrew Bailey should be in prison

Another crazed state AG addicted to injustice. We have one here in Texas. Drunk on power and addicted to racial oppression.

There should be repercussions and severe penalties for this kind of egregious miscarriage of justice.