A judge ruled last month Sandra Hemme must be freed or retried for the 1980 murder within 30 days, but the Missouri Attorney General fought to keep her imprisoned.
A woman whose murder conviction was overturned after she served 43 years in prison was released Friday, after Missouri’s attorney general fought for more than a month to keep her behind bars.
Sandra Hemme, 63, left prison Friday in Chillicothe, hours after a judge threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt if they continued to fight against her release. She reunited with her family at a nearby park, where she hugged her daughter and granddaughter. Her sister, Joyce Ann Kays, was all grins.
The judge originally ruled on June 14 that Hemme’s attorneys had established “clear and convincing evidence” of “actual innocence” and overturned the conviction. But Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey fought her release in the courts.
Then multiply that figure by 10 or more. The state should be punished for that mistake and not want to make similar mistakes again.
Oh sure. “That amount” would be the compensatory part. The punitive part would be an entirely other thing.
What about the enjoyment she would’ve had with her daughter and family? How do do pay that back?
