Her legal team at the Innocence Project said they were grateful Ms. Hemme was finally reunited with her family and would “continue to fight” to clear her name.
Although she is no longer in prison, her case is still under review.
Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman's original 118-page ruling, Out Her conviction was overturned on June 14. It came after Hemme's lawyers said they had clear evidence of her innocence, including evidence not presented to her defense team at the time.
“The court finds that the totality of the evidence supports a verdict of substantial not guilty,” Judge Horsman concluded.
The review found that local police ignored evidence pointing directly to one of their officers, Michael Holman, who was later jailed for other crimes and died in 2015.
Holman's truck was seen in the area on the day of the murder, his alibi was unverifiable, and he used Patricia Yeschke's credit card after claiming he found the truck in a ditch.
Also found in Holman's home was a unique pair of gold earrings, which were identified as belonging to Mr. Jeschke's father.
The review found that none of these facts were disclosed to Ms. Heme's legal team at the time.
Mrs. Heme was interrogated by the police several times after being involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital and under the influence of antipsychotics and powerful tranquilizers. She had been receiving psychiatric treatment intermittently since she was 12 years old.
According to court documents, her responses were “monosyllabic,” she was “completely unaware of what was happening,” she sometimes had difficulty holding her head up and felt pain from muscle spasms – a side effect of the drug.
Judge Horsman's review noted that the forensic evidence did not link Ms. Hem to the murders. She had no motive and there were no witnesses linking her to the crimes.
Sandra Hemme finally walked out of prison on Friday, the Kansas City Star reports. , OutShe will live with her sister.
After her release, she met her family at a nearby park and hugged her sister, daughter and granddaughter.
Her father was hospitalized this week in palliative care, and her defense team said she plans to visit him as soon as possible.
Defense attorney Sean O'Brien told the Star that he still needs help because he has spent most of his life in prison and is ineligible for Social Security.
