After 43 years in prison and being declared innocent, Sandra Hemme has been reunited with her family.

A woman whose murder conviction was dismissed after serving 43 years in prison was freed last Friday, despite efforts by Missouri’s attorney general. Andrew Bailey, to imprison her. Company Associated Press He said Sandra Hemme64 years old, released from prison Chilli powderHours after a judge threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt if he continued to oppose his release.

After his release from prison, Hemme reunited with his family in a nearby park, where he hugged his sister, daughter and granddaughter. New York Post The relatives recounted the conversations that took place when they met again. “You were a baby when your mother sent me your photo. You were like your mother when you were little, and you are like her now,” Hemme told her granddaughter. The granddaughter, smiling, replied: “They tell me a lot.”

Hemmin’s legal team, presided over Crime free planShe identified herself as a woman who had been unjustly imprisoned for a long time in the United States. Sean O’Brienone of his lawyers said New York Post: “It is very easy to convict an innocent person and very difficult to acquit him even to the extent of ignoring court orders.”

Judge Ryan Horsman It ruled on June 14 that the woman’s lawyers had presented “clear and convincing evidence” of her “genuine innocence” and overturned her conviction. However, Bailey, a Republican, fought his release in court.

According to KSHBDuring Friday’s court hearing, Horsman warned that Bailey himself would have to appear in court Tuesday morning if Hemme was not released within hours. The judge also criticized the prosecutor’s office for calling the prison director and telling officials not to release the woman after the release order.

On July 8, a state appeals court ruled that the defendant should be released pending a review of the case. The next day, the judge Horseman Her sister ruled that she should be released to go home. “The totality of the evidence establishes a genuine innocence,” the judge said.

The woman’s immediate freedom was complicated by the sentences she received for crimes committed while in prison. BurtonReleased in 2008 and McIntyreReleased in 2017, founders Crime free planA non-profit organization that advocates for justice system reform.

About the case HemmeBurton said: “She’s been gone for 43 years. That was almost the time LaMonte and I were imprisoned. “We’re celebrating 47 years together.” McIntyre added: “My reaction is to feel free again. I know what that feels like”.

He Missouri Department of Corrections The ex-convict confirmed her release at 5:50 p.m., ten minutes before a court order to release her or she would be held in contempt of Judge Bailey. The attorney argued that Hemme was a danger to himself and others, and he should begin serving that sentence now.

“It is a shock to the conscience of any decent human being,” he said. Peter JoyProfessor of Law Washington University in St. Louis, referring to attempts to imprison Hemm. According to Joy, the evidence clearly shows that she did not commit the crime.

Maybe Sandra Hemme It underscored the challenges of the U.S. justice system and upholding the conviction of some officials despite evidence of innocence.