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John,
For the last 42 years, Sandra “Sandy” Hemme has been in prison for a crime that evidence supports she did not commit, making her the longest-known wrongly incarcerated woman in the U.S.
But despite spending the majority of her life behind bars, Sandy has never given up hope that her name will one day be cleared. We’re currently fighting for her freedom, but we need your support. Add your name right now to support our efforts to get justice for Sandy.
Sandy was wrongly convicted for the 1980 murder of Patricia Jeschke in St. Joseph, Missouri, after police exploited her mental illness and coerced her into making false statements while she was sedated.
At the time of the crime, Sandy was just 20 years old and a patient at St. Joseph’s State Hospital receiving treatment for auditory hallucinations, derealization, and drug misuse. Police conducted hours-long interviews with her while she was hospitalized. At some points, she was so heavily medicated that she was unable to even hold her head up and was restrained and strapped to a chair.
Unfortunately, Sandy’s lawyer presented no witnesses for her defense and the jury never even heard about the extremely coercive circumstances under which police obtained her false statements.
There was no physical, forensic, or eyewitness evidence that linked her to the victim or the crime scene. But there was evidence that pointed to a St. Joseph police officer as a suspect. Officer Michael Holman admitted to being near Patricia’s home at the time of the murder, and his white pickup truck was parked near the scene. Officer Holman also attempted to use Patricia’s credit card the day after her murder. Patricia’s earrings were also found in Officer Holman’s possession. But the prosecution illegally hid all of this evidence from the defense.
All of the evidence in this case points to Sandy’s innocence. We have to keep pushing for her freedom — will you join us? Add your name to support Sandy’s fight for freedom right now.
Thank you for your support,
— The Innocence Project Team |
