Woman released after serving 43 years imprisonment for murder she did not commit

A woman who served 43 years for a murder she did not commit has been released after her conviction was overturned.

Sandra Hemme was 20 years old when she was found guilty of stabbing to death library worker Patricia Jeschke from St Joseph, Missouri, in November 1980 and was given a life sentence.

There was no evidence that linked her to the crime other than a confession she gave under heavy sedation in a psychiatric hospital, a review into her case found.

Now 64, Hemme is believed to have served the longest known wrongful conviction of a woman in US history according to her representatives.

After her release she was reunited with family in a nearby park, where she hugged her sister, daughter and granddaughter.

Defence lawyer Sean O’Brien says Hemme will still need help because she has spent most of her life in prison and was ineligible for social security.

Source: BBC News