Sandra “Sandy” Hemme watched with what appeared to be a calm focus as her legal team presented arguments Wednesday before three Missouri appellate judges.
She spent more than 43 years in prison until a circuit court judge in June found her innocent in a 1980 murder in St. Joseph.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office opposed Hemme’s release from prison. As her freedom was being litigated, the attorney general’s office filed the appeal that was heard Wednesday by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Court , in downtown Kansas City.
The attorney general’s office contends that Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman exceeded his authority in his ruling.
Hemme’s attorneys say Horsman correctly overturned her conviction based on evidence presented during a hearing in January, which pointed to a now-deceased St. Joseph police officer as the true killer.
Court of Appeals hearing
Hemme sat in the first row holding a silver cane next to her sister and behind her legal team — Kansas City attorney Sean O’Brien, and Jane Pucher and Andrew Lee with The Innocence Project. Several of her family members and other supporters also attended the hearing.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clarke told the panel of judges that Horsman’s order to overturn her conviction violated the Missouri Constitution and misapplies state and federal laws.
The judges peppered Clarke with legal questions and inquiries about the evidence. Several key pieces of evidence were not handed over to Hemme’s original trial attorney, in what is known as a Brady violation.
Clarke questioned if that evidence undermined confidence in the verdict.
O’Brien said strong evidence points to Hemme’s innocence and implicates Michael Holman, the St. Joseph officer, and was excluded from her trial. That includes earrings reportedly identified by the father of Patricia Jeschke, the murder victim, that were found in Holman’s possession.
His vehicle was also seen near the crime scene, and he used Jeschke’s credit card.
Judge Thomas Chapman asked O’Brien how Hemme led investigators to Jeschke’s home. O’Brien said an image of the residence had been on the front page of a local newspaper and that the address was in an article.
Presiding Judge Cynthia Martin asked him if Hemme’s confession was something they were required to consider. He said yes, but that the other claims should also be considered, including the Brady violations. He also noted that Hemme had been medicated when she was interviewed by authorities, in a condition he described as “a chemical straitjacket.”
The arguments lasted about 45 minutes. The judges are expected to issue a written decision on Horsman’s ruling in the coming weeks or months.
After the hearing, Pucher said “the evidence presented fully supports the position that (Horsman) took, that this was a miscarriage of justice.”
She also said it was powerful that Hemme got “to hear her case move one step further, hopefully towards being final.”
“She’s an incredibly strong person who has survived more than most people can imagine,” Pucher said. “And she lives every day with purpose. She lives intentionally. She lives to spend time with her family, you can’t make up the lost years, but to really make the most out of every single day that she has. And it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”
O’Brien said it was Hemme ’s choice to appear at the hearing Wednesday and added that “Freedom looks good on Sandy.”
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Evidence points to someone else
Hemme presented her case during an evidentiary hearing earlier this year. In an 118-page memorandum, Horsman said “evidence directly” ties Holman to Jeschke’s death.
Horsman noted that no forensic evidence connected Hemme to the murder. She did not have a motive and there were no witnesses tying her to the crime.
“The only evidence linking Ms. Hemme to the crime was that of her own inconsistent, disproven statements, statements that were taken while she was in psychiatric crisis and physical pain,” Horsman wrote.
Patrick Robb was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Buchanan County and is now a judge there. He testified that he did not believe Holman was clear of Jeschke’s homicide. Martin on Wednesday said Robb’s testimony was hard to ignore.
Other violations in Hemme’s case occurred when the state failed to hand over the exculpatory evidence and because her trial attorney fell “below professional standards.”
On July 9, Horsman ordered Hemme be released from Chillicothe Correctional Center. The attorney general’s office intervened with corrections officials even though no stay was in place.
Hemme was freed 10 days later after a court hearing where Horsman threatened to hold Clarke and Attorney General Andrew Bailey in contempt. The office under Bailey has taken a particularly hostile stance toward innocence claims across the state.
Though Horsman concluded Hemme was wrongfully convicted, she has not been fully exonerated due to this appeal. The prosecuting attorney in Buchanan County, where the homicide took place, has also not yet announced whether she will dismiss the murder charge or re-try Hemme.
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