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Preamble:
In the history of American justice, there have been many unjust, false and wrongful convictions that make people sigh. Recently, a decision by the federal court of Missouri has attracted widespread public attention. This murder case, which spans more than 40 years, completely changed the lives of two women due to the mistakes of the investigators - one died under the knife, and the real murderer went unpunished; Another innocent woman was held for 43 years. Shockingly, the real killer turned out to be a police officer, and he died in 2015.
The trial of this case is full of twists and turns and bizarreness, revealing deep problems in the American justice system. Let's dive into the history of this unjust case.
The woman was killed, and she became the object of suspicion
Back on November 13, 1980, Patricia Jeske's mother received a phone call from the library saying that Jesk hadn't come to work for a day. The mother realized that something was wrong and immediately rushed to the apartment where her daughter lived, knocked on the door for a long time, and there was no answer in the room. Anxious, she climbed in through the window of her neighbor's house.
She was stunned by the sight in front of her: her daughter was lying naked on the floor, covered in blood. Her hands were tied behind her back with telephone wires, a pair of pantyhose around her neck, and a knife under her head. The brutal murder quickly made local headlines, and the police worked 12 hours a day to solve the case. However, it wasn't until two weeks later that there was a new development in the case.
Sandra Heim at that time did not come into the sight of the police until two weeks later, she appeared at the home of a nurse who had treated her with a knife and refused to leave. The police rushed to the nurse's home and eventually found Haim in a closet and took her back to St. Joseph's Hospital. Haim has had auditory hallucinations since he was 12 years old and has been treated at this hospital. The day before Jeske's body was found, Haim had just been discharged from St. Joseph's Hospital and hitchhiked 160 kilometers back to his parents' home that night.
The police consider this timing very suspicious. At the beginning of the interrogation, Heim was on antipsychotic medications that triggered her involuntary muscle spasms, and she kept rolling her eyes at the police. The police noticed that she appeared to be "mentally confused" and unable to fully understand their problem.
"Every time the police get a statement from her, it is very different from the previous one, and it usually includes an explanation of the facts that the police have just discovered," Heim's lawyer noted. Finally, Heim claimed to have witnessed Wabsky kill Jesk after meeting with Joseph Wabsky in the Missouri State Hospital's Drug Treatment Unit.
Wabsky was soon charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors learned that he was at an alcohol treatment center in Topeka, Kansas, and a few days later, the court dropped the murder charges against him. Upon learning the news, Heim cried, believing that she had become the only murderer.
It was at this time that the St. Joseph police began to pay attention to another person of their own - Michael Holman. A month after Jesk was killed, Holman was found driving a truck with Jeske's identity information to the library where she worked to collect insurance benefits. The St. Joseph's Police Department thus locked up Holman as a result.
The police found that Holman had been at the scene of the crime in a truck. However, Mr. Holman said his presence was a coincidence and that he had alibi — he had spent the night with a woman at a nearby motel on the day of the crime. However, this cannot be confirmed. On the same day that police found Jeske's body, Holman went to a camera shop in another city and used Jeske's credit card to buy a camera.
Holman argued: "I picked up a wallet in a stinky ditch on the side of the road and found this credit card. He repeatedly denied that he knew Jeske, but he had swiped a stranger's credit card and bought a camera. However, Holman colleagues did not believe the rhetoric and carried out a raid on his home. In the course of their investigation, they found a pair of horseshoe-shaped gold earrings, as well as jewelry that a woman had lost in a previous burglary.
Later, the St. Joseph's police department approached Jesque's family to identify the items, and Jeske's father recognized the pair of gold earrings as a gift from him to his daughter. As a result, the police department launched an investigation into Holman and believed that he was not only involved in the murder, but also in connection with the previous theft.
It can be said that this policeman named Holman is a bad guy. If it is said that because of his wealth, he sneaked into the victim's home and caused the murder, it does not seem to be an incomprehensible thing. Therefore, throughout the trial of the case, Holman was regarded as a key object of suspicion.
However, it is unbelievable that under such circumstances, the court's investigation of Holman ended abruptly four days later. Shortly after the investigation ended, the St. Joseph Police Department fired Holman without cause. After that, Holman left St. Joseph without warning and went to live in Kansas City in western Missouri, where he died of illness in 2015.
Heim's grievances and the police's forced confession
Holman escaped the law and was only fired, while prosecutors continued to prosecute Heim. Increasingly desperate, the police took advantage of her mental illness by forcibly interrogating her while she was taking medication to treat her psychiatric illness and threatening her with the death penalty to make a false statement.
While awaiting trial in prison, on December 25, 1980, Haim wrote to his parents: "Even though I am innocent, they want to lock me up so they can say, 'This case is settled'. "She thinks she might as well change her story and admit her guilt." Just let this be over, I'm tired. ”
In the spring of 1981, Haim pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for immunity from the death penalty. The presiding judge initially rejected her guilty plea because she could not give enough details. "It wasn't until three days later that the incident made headlines," the judge said. "Haym was told that her chance not to be sentenced to death was for the judge to accept her guilty plea. In the end, Haim was sentenced to life in prison.
Until February 2023, the case ushered in a turning point. Heim's lawyer got new evidence last year that the murder was linked to Holman. However, this evidence was not disclosed by prosecutors that year. Due to prosecutor errors, Heim's lawyer never learned of the evidence, leaving the murder unsolved more than 40 years later.
Larry Harman, who helped Haim overturn his original guilty plea and later become a judge, is now 63 years old and still speaks incoherently after years in prison, but he believes she is innocent. On June 15, the Eastern Missouri Federal Court reversed the original ruling. Presiding Judge Ryan Hossman condemned the St. Joseph's police approach.
"The only evidence linking Haim to the crime is her capricious, inconsistent, unsubstantiated statements that came at a time when her physical and mental health were at risk," Justice Ryan wrote in the instrument overturning the ruling. "Heim pleaded guilty and handcuffed while he was drugged by police. The court will make a decision to release or retry her within the next 30 days to reunite Heim with her family.
Reflections behind the wrongful convictions
This unjust case not only shows people the loopholes in the US justice system, but also the possible negligence and bias of the US police in the process of handling the case. Haim was targeted by the police for mental illness and suffered unfair treatment, which was not only a personal injury to her, but also a serious blow to the fairness of the entire justice system.
In the case, the real murderer, Holman, escaped the law for various reasons, while the innocent Heim was saddled with 43 years in prison. This is not only a personal tragedy, but also a social tragedy. With the emergence of new evidence, we have reason to believe that Heim's grievances will eventually be revealed, but the reflections and lessons left by this case for Americans should not be forgotten.
The impartiality of the judiciary is the cornerstone of social stability and citizen trust. In dealing with such cases, law enforcement agencies and the judicial system should be more cautious and impartial in ensuring that each case is handled in accordance with legal and ethical standards and that innocent people are not wronged.
epilogue
Sandra Heim's story is a realistic version of tragedy full of suffering and hope. She spent 43 years in prison and was saddled with innocent charges, but she never gave up on her quest for justice. Now, the truth is emerging, and Haim is about to usher in the freedom and justice she deserves.
For Sandra Heim, regaining her freedom means not only a new lease on life, but also a repositioning of herself in society. Her lawyers and supporters are working hard to help her readjust to society and provide her with the necessary psychological counselling and life support. Haim's family is also preparing for her reunion, hoping that she will be able to adjust to her new life as soon as possible.
At the same time, the exposure of this unjust case has also aroused public concern about the reform of the US judicial system. Many called for greater training for law enforcement officers to improve their professionalism in dealing with people with mental illness to avoid the recurrence of similar tragedies. In addition, the public wants more effective oversight mechanisms to ensure that every case is heard fairly and that innocent people are not wronged.
For those who have suffered injustice in similar cases, Haim's story is a symbol of hope. Her perseverance and courage prove that no matter how difficult it is, justice will eventually be served. Many Americans have expressed hope that the justice system of the future will be more fair and transparent, so that everyone can receive the justice they deserve under the protection of the law.
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Resources:
The longest unjust prison in the history of the United States! Woman imprisoned for 40 years on suspicion of murder, judge: The real murderer is the police-Today's headlines (toutiao.com)
American woman finally cleared after 43 years of unjust imprisonment, and the real murderer was a policeman-Today's headlines (toutiao.com)