the charles smith blog: Sandra Hemme: Missouri: Imprisoned for 42 years, she was convicted of murder - even though she was a patient at a psychiatric hospital when she gave conflicting statements about the murder to investigators. Now, in a most unusual move, the state's attorney general has agreed with her attorneys to conduct an evidentiary hearing that could lead to her freedom and exoneration - especially in light of the Innocence Project's allegation that state officials withheld evidence during the trial that would have implicated a 22-year-old St. Joseph police officer who was investigated for insurance fraud and burglaries and later spent time in prison in Missouri and Nebraska..."Her attorneys say the only evidence linking Hemme to Jeschke’s death were “wildly contradictory” and “factually impossible” statements she gave to detectives while she was a patient at the St. Joseph State Hospital’s psychiatric ward. She initially didn’t mention a murder, then claimed Jeschke was killed by a man who police later determined was in Topeka at the time, and then later said she knew about the murder because of “extrasensory perception,” according to her attorneys. Two weeks after Jeschke’s nude body was found on the floor of her apartment in eastern St. Joseph, Hemme told authorities she thought she stabbed the victim with a knife but then added “I don’t know. I don’t know,” according to her attorneys. The attorney general’s office said Hemme’s attorneys have “alleged facts that if true may entitle her to relief.” Hemme initially pleaded guilty to capital murder, but her conviction was thrown out on appeal. She was then found guilty in 1985 during a one-day jury trial in which the only evidence was her “confession.”

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Sandra Hemme: Missouri: Imprisoned for 42 years, she was convicted of murder - even though she was a patient at a psychiatric hospital when she gave conflicting statements about the murder to investigators. Now, in a most unusual move, the state's attorney general has agreed with her attorneys to conduct an evidentiary hearing that could lead to her freedom and exoneration - especially in light of the Innocence Project's allegation that state officials withheld evidence during the trial that would have implicated a 22-year-old St. Joseph police officer who was investigated for insurance fraud and burglaries and later spent time in prison in Missouri and Nebraska..."Her attorneys say the only evidence linking Hemme to Jeschke’s death were “wildly contradictory” and “factually impossible” statements she gave to detectives while she was a patient at the St. Joseph State Hospital’s psychiatric ward. She initially didn’t mention a murder, then claimed Jeschke was killed by a man who police later determined was in Topeka at the time, and then later said she knew about the murder because of “extrasensory perception,” according to her attorneys. Two weeks after Jeschke’s nude body was found on the floor of her apartment in eastern St. Joseph, Hemme told authorities she thought she stabbed the victim with a knife but then added “I don’t know. I don’t know,” according to her attorneys. The attorney general’s office said Hemme’s attorneys have “alleged facts that if true may entitle her to relief.” Hemme initially pleaded guilty to capital murder, but her conviction was thrown out on appeal. She was then found guilty in 1985 during a one-day jury trial in which the only evidence was her “confession.”

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects (especially young suspects) are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including inducement. deception (read ‘outright lies’) physical violence, and even physical and mental torture.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The Missouri attorney general’s office, currently held by Republican Andrew Bailey, has a long history of opposing wrongful conviction motions. Bailey’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Bailey has only been in office since January. But his predecessor, Eric Schmidt, who is now a U.S. senator, fought against efforts to free Kevin Strickland. He was exonerated in 2021 after spending 43 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit. Schmidt also opposed an effort to exonerate Lamar Johnson, who was freed in February after 28 years in prison. Kent Gipson, a Kansas City-based attorney who has filed hundreds of post-conviction claims over three decades, said he could think of only one other innocence case where the attorney general’s office agreed to an evidentiary hearing."

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STORY: "Missouri woman imprisoned for 42 years to get court hearing, by Fox 4 News, on June 22, 2023.

SUB-HEADING: Imprisoned for 42 years, she has been granted a hearing that could lead to her release, published by Fox News (Associated Press) on June 22, 2023.

GIST: "A Missouri woman who has spent more than four decades in prison for a murder her supporters believe she did not commit will get a court hearing that could lead to her release.

The Missouri attorney general’s office has agreed to an evidentiary hearing for Sandra Hemme, 63, who was convicted of murder in the Nov. 12, 1980, killing of Patricia Jeschke, a library worker in St. Joseph, The Kansas City Star reported Thursday.

Lawyers for the Innocence Project filed a petition in February seeking to exonerate and free Hemme, who was a patient at a psychiatric hospital when she gave conflicting statements about the murder to investigators.

In a response filed last week, the attorney general’s office asked Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman to require lawyers involved in the case to be ready to set a date for the evidentiary hearing when they meet on July 10

The Innocence Project says state officials withheld evidence during the trial that would have implicated a 22-year-old St. Joseph police officer who was investigated for insurance fraud and burglaries and later spent time in prison in Missouri and Nebraska.

He died in 2015.

Shortly after Jeschke was found dead, the officer used her credit card.

Jeschke’s earrings were found in his apartment and the officer’s colleagues could not corroborate his alibi — that he was having sex with another woman at a motel next to Jeschke’s apartment when she was killed.

Lloyd Pasley, who was a senior member in St. Joseph’s detective division in 1980 and served twice as interim police chief in the department, said he believes Hemme is innocent and evidence suggests the officer was the killer.

The Missouri attorney general’s office, currently held by Republican Andrew Bailey, has a long history of opposing wrongful conviction motions. Bailey’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Bailey has only been in office since January.

But his predecessor, Eric Schmidt, who is now a U.S. senator, fought against efforts to free Kevin Strickland.

He was exonerated in 2021 after spending 43 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit.

Schmidt also opposed an effort to exonerate Lamar Johnson, who was freed in February after 28 years in prison.

Kent Gipson, a Kansas City-based attorney who has filed hundreds of post-conviction claims over three decades, said he could think of only one other innocence case where the attorney general’s office agreed to an evidentiary hearing.

Gibson is not involved in the Hemme case."

The entire story can be read at:

https://fox4kc.com/news/missouri-news/st-joseph-woman-imprisoned-for-42-years-gets-hearing-that-could-lead-to-release/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929

FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.

Lawyer Radha Natarajan;

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:

David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”

https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/

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