PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clark said Horsman's ruling violates the Missouri Constitution. In his brief, Clark cited 13 instances where Horsman "exceeded his authority" in finding Hemme innocent. Just two minutes into his arguments, presiding Judge Cynthia Martin stopped Clark as he challenged whether Horsman should have allowed certain evidence into the record. "What are we talking about here?" she asked. If the evidence was beneficial and material to Hemme's case, Horsman was correct in allowing it, Martin said. The panel also had questions about the discredited and now-deceased St. Joseph Police officer who was a strong suspect in the murder — including why he was never called as a witness in the original trial."
————————————————————————
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "O'Brien argued Horsman was right when he found Hemme innocent. First, he said Hemme was heavily medicated when she confessed to the crime, so her confession was invalid. He also argued she had poor defense counsel who failed to realize the prosecution was withholding evidence. Even the St. Joseph Police believe Hemme was innocent, O’Brien said. "This is the rare case when detectives came to court and had concerns about the investigation," O'Brien told the court."
———————————————————————————————
PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "You can't imagine having been in prison for 43 years, seven months and 20 days, and then being released to a loving family," O'Brien said after the hearing. "There's just no tonic on earth that will rejuvenate you like that." But the path to freedom was littered with obstacles — even after Horsman overturned Hemme’s conviction. Bailey took his fight to keep Hemme in prison all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court. And even after the high court ordered her release, Bailey told the prison warden to ignore the court's order. After a nine-day court battle, Hemme finally walked out of the prison in Chillicothe, hours after Horsman threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt if they continued to fight against her release."
-------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Sandra Hemme finally won her freedom. Missouri’s attorney general is trying to take it back, by NPR Metro Reporter Sam Zeff, published buy KCUR, one October 9, 2024.
GIST: "The Missouri Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Wednesday in the innocence case of Sandra Hemme, who served 43 years in prison — more time than any other wrongly convicted woman in the U.S.
Sandra Hemme watched intently, sometimes leaning forward in her seat, as lawyers argued whether she would remain free after a Missouri judge overturned her 1980 murder conviction this summer.
Wearing black slacks and a black sweater, Hemme smiled and chatted with her family and supporters before oral arguments Wednesday at the Missouri Court of Appeals in downtown Kansas City.
"Freedom looks good on Sandy," said Sean O'Brien, the lawyer who argued her case.
In June, Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman overturned Hemme’s conviction for the murder of Patricia Jeschke, a librarian from St. Joseph. Attorneys attorneys proved the prosecution withheld evidence and she received poor legal representation.
They also provided evidence the murder had actually been committed by a disgraced and now-dead St. Joseph Police officer.
After a three-day hearing, Horsman ruled that Hemme presented “clear and convincing evidence” of “actual innocence.” Hemme was, Horsman wrote, “the victim of a manifest injustice.”
Still, after fighting Hemme's release on an appeal bond, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's office appeared in court before a three-judge panel, fighting to send her back to prison.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clark said Horsman's ruling violates the Missouri Constitution. In his brief, Clark cited 13 instances where Horsman "exceeded his authority" in finding Hemme innocent.
Just two minutes into his arguments, presiding Judge Cynthia Martin stopped Clark as he challenged whether Horsman should have allowed certain evidence into the record.
"What are we talking about here?" she asked. If the evidence was beneficial and material to Hemme's case, Horsman was correct in allowing it, Martin said.
The panel also had questions about the discredited and now-deceased St. Joseph Police officer who was a strong suspect in the murder — including why he was never called as a witness in the original trial.
O'Brien argued Horsman was right when he found Hemme innocent. First, he said Hemme was heavily medicated when she confessed to the crime, so her confession was invalid.
He also argued she had poor defense counsel who failed to realize the prosecution was withholding evidence. Even the St. Joseph Police believe Hemme was innocent, O’Brien said.
"This is the rare case when detectives came to court and had concerns about the investigation," O'Brien told the court.
Joining O'Brien in representing Hemme was the Innocence Project in New York.
"We're grateful to have this day behind us and to hopefully help Miss Hemme keep moving forward with her life," said Innocence Project Senior Attorney Jane Pucher.
She said having Hemme in the courtroom was powerful, especially because she was surrounded "by her family, her siblings, her nieces and nephews, her granddaughter, all sitting in support of her."
O'Brien said it was Hemme who decided to come to court with her family.
"You can't imagine having been in prison for 43 years, seven months and 20 days, and then being released to a loving family," O'Brien said after the hearing. "There's just no tonic on earth that will rejuvenate you like that."
But the path to freedom was littered with obstacles — even after Horsman overturned Hemme’s conviction.
Bailey took his fight to keep Hemme in prison all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court. And even after the high court ordered her release, Bailey told the prison warden to ignore the court's order.
After a nine-day court battle, Hemme finally walked out of the prison in Chillicothe, hours after Horsman threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt if they continued to fight against her release.
Assistant Attorney General Clark left the courthouse before he could be asked questions. A spokesman for Bailey did not immediately return a text seeking comment, including whether Bailey would appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court if he loses."
The entire story can be read at:
The entire story can be read at:
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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;
