Friday evening, July 19, Sandra Hemme walked out of prison, a free woman.
Convicted of a murder she didn’t commit, Hemme spent more than four decades incarcerated at Chillicothe Correctional Facility in northern Missouri.
Hemme’s journey to freedom was led by attorney, Sean O’Brien, and a legal team from the Midwest Innocence Project. O’Brien was a founder of the organization, which works to free innocent people from prison for crimes they didn’t commit.
In 2023, O’Brien was named University of Missouri-Kansas City Alumnus of the Year. I had the honor to write the script for a video about him shown at the awards event March 10.
O’Brien is a hero defined by integrity, committed to truth and justice.
![Sandra Hemme](https://annemariehunter.com/wp-content/uploads/Sandra-Hemme.jpg)
Credit: HG Biggs/The Kansas City Star
![](https://annemariehunter.com/wp-content/uploads/Sean-OBrien.jpg)
Credit: University of Missouri-Kansas City