Sandra Hemme was a psychiatric patient who confessed to killing a woman in 1980.
Her lawyers claim that a former police officer was involved in the crime, and this incident has been the longest case of wrongful imprisonment in the history of the US.
On Friday, a judge ruled that Hemme was innocent, and she should be released.
He cited the failure of prosecutors to disclose evidence that could have helped her, as well as her trial counsel’s ineffective performance.
Her lawyers, who are part of the Innocence Project, are now seeking her release.
Hemme’s lawyers thanked the court for its decision, and they vowed to continue fighting for her release.
The incident, which happened in 1980, grabbed headlines after the victim’s mother found her body on the floor of her apartment in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Hemme was restrained with a telephone cord and her hands were tied behind her back.
Her throat was also covered in tights, and a knife was under her head.
Her lawyers claim that she was too sedated to talk when she was first questioned about the incident.
In a petition for her release, Hemme’s attorneys stated that authorities suppressed evidence that linked her to the crime due to her unreliable statements.
They also claimed that the authorities failed to investigate her claims after learning that a young police officer named Michael Holman tried to use the victim’s card.
Conversely, the court noted that the evidential link connecting the crime scene and Hemme’s confinement directly implicates Holman, who was a suspect at the time and was dismissed after investigations for insurance fraud and burglary. He died in 2015.
