Missouri
Sandra Hemme spent 43 years wrongfully imprisoned. Missouri would pay little if she is freed
After serving 43 years in prison for a murder case hinged on things she said as a psychiatric patient, Sandra Hemme could be cleared of the killing and freed in less than three weeks, by July 14.
For that, Missouri state law promises $100 a day for each day of her life lost to prison on a wrongful conviction. For Hemme, who was first convicted in 1981 for the 1980 killing, that’s roughly $1.6 million.
Some critics say that’s too little for 43 years. If her case had been in federal court, she would be in line for about a third more. In Kansas, nearly twice as much. In Texas, the money would have been more than doubled.
Livingston County Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman ruled in mid-June that the state must free Hemme unless prosecutors retried her in the next 30 days. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said shortly after the ruling that his appeals division would look into whether to challenge the judge’s decision.
The judge ruled that prosecutors presented no forensic evidence or motive linking Hemme to the killing of library worker Patricia Jeschke in St. Joseph, Missouri, in November 1980.
Rather, the case relied on what she said in a psychiatric ward in a St. Joseph hospital. At the time, she said conflicting and impossible things. At one point, she claimed to see a man commit the killing, but he was in another city at the time. At other times, she said she knew about the murder because of extrasensory perception. Two weeks into talks with detectives, she said she thought she stabbed Jeschke with a hunting knife, but she wasn’t sure.
Hemme’s lawyers accuse a now-discredited police officer of her murder. In a rare departure from its policy a year ago, the attorney general’s office didn’t object to a hearing to explore a wrongful-conviction claim.
If she’s cleared, Hemme’s case would mark the longest known wrongful conviction of a woman in U.S. history.
Her compensation for those years in jail will not be a record.
Caps on wrongful-conviction compensation vary widely across the country. In federal cases, the limit is $50,000 for every year someone’s wrongly held in prison plus $100,000 for every year on death row.
In Washington, D.C., the cap is $200,000 a year. Connecticut pays as much as $131,506. Nevada has a sliding scale that pays $100,000 a year on cases of 20 years or more.
Kansas pays $65,000 for each year. In more than a dozen other states, the rate runs from $50,000 to $80,000. Of states that set limits or promise compensation, Missouri’s $36,500 a year is low.
The National Registry of Exonerations counts 54 people convicted of crimes in Missouri who have been exonerated since 1989. Only nine of them got payouts from the state. Missouri is the only state that gives wrongly imprisoned inmates compensation if they were proved not guilty by DNA analysis.
Gov. Mike Parson vetoed a bill in 2023 that could have provided inmates proven not guilty with a larger compensation up to $179 a day, allowed prosecutors to seek judicial review of past cases and created a state special unit to help prosecutors with investigating cases.
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 19, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 4-7-3
Midday Wild: 7
Evening: 8-8-3
Evening Wild: 5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 9-0-8-0
Midday Wild: 9
Evening: 1-8-4-8
Evening Wild: 9
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 19 drawing
Early Bird: 15
Morning: 15
Matinee: 07
Prime Time: 10
Night Owl: 06
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Show Me Cash numbers from April 19 drawing
08-14-24-27-28
Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.
To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:
Ticket Redemption
Missouri Lottery
P.O. Box 7777
Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777
For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.
For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.
When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
- Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
- Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
- Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
- Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.
WHEATLAND, Mo. — It was all Kerry Madsen on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway as the 54-year-old native of Australia, who’s now based in Knoxville, Iowa, picked up his first Interstate Batteries High Limit Sprint racing victory.
Madsen led all 30 laps to earn the $12,000 prize. He outdistanced runner-up Sue Lynch by 2.79 seconds with Tanner Holmes finishing third.
“The car’s been super quick every time we’ve hit the track,” Madsen said, noting several competitive runs in the early portion of the High Limit schedule. “The car’s been quick every night, which gives you a lot of confidence.
“We haven’t drawn well in dashes and had some little stuff going on. We drew a good one (tonight) and the car was good and we got the job done. I’m pretty happy.”
That changed this time as Madsen beat Holmes in the dash, to claim the pole position for the feature.
Madsen said his young crew chief Ty Wolfgang has “done a great job” getting in sync with him. Communication has been a big key.
“I know it sounds weird, but just hanging out together,” Madsen said of the driver-crew chief chemistry. “Dinner and a beer and just talk about racing. You do that and it might be a Wednesday night, but something clicks. He’s been real receptive with that stuff and that’s great.”
Madsen, a former Knoxville Nationals 360 winner, paced the early going after starting from the pole, with Holmes in close pursuit. Action slowed on lap six with Chase Randall and Danny Samms III tangling in turn two for the first and only yellow of the event.
Lynch moved into second on the restart as Madsen opened a 1.5-second lead by lap nine as Holmes dropped to third. Madsen’s margin swelled to nearly two seconds by lap 11 – but Lynch tracked down the leader and cut the deficit to a half-second at the halfway mark on lap 15.
As the race continued until green-flag conditions, Madsen settled into a one-second advantage as Lynch and Holmes tried to keep pace. Madsen poured it on in the late stages, cruising to the checkers by nearly three seconds over Lynch.
“Hopefully we can keep rolling like this all year. Obviously, you can’t win every night, but being quick and running well is going to be awesome,” Madsen said.
Lynch, 28 from Cowansville, Pa., said the team found some steering issues and gave him a fast car. It just was not fast enough to stay with Madsen on Saturday night.
“We were battling steering issue in the dash and it was pretty obvious,” Lynch said. “We just didn’t have time to change it and we just tried to make it the best we could. Really the car was super good. The guys busted their butt all night. It’s a testament to the team. We’re working hard and hopefully one spot better real soon.”
Holmes, a 22-year-old from Jacksonville, Oregon, came home third with Daison Pursley fourth, Hank Davis fifth and Rico Abreu charging from 11th to sixth.
“Our best night of the year,” Holmes said. “We’ve got to race a little bit during a break with High Limit these last few weeks. Some of those nights when we got our teeth kicked in taught us a lot.”
Fast overall qualifier was Sye Lynch at 13.342 seconds out of Group A. Aaron Reutzel led Group B with a lap of 13.469 seconds. Both were well off the track record for 410 Sprints held by Rico Abreu at 12.829 seconds on June 29, 2024.
The finish:
Feature: 1. 55-Kerry Madsen[1]; 2. 42-Sye Lynch[3]; 3. 13-Tanner Holmes[2]; 4. 9-Daison Pursley[4]; 5. 17GP-Hank Davis[5]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu[11]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[12]; 8. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[6]; 9. 19-Brent Marks[9]; 10. 26-Justin Peck[10]; 11. 88-Tanner Thorson[15]; 12. 21-Brian Brown[14]; 13. 28-Jace Park[23]; 14. 87-Aaron Reutzel[7]; 15. 19JR-Joel Myers Jr[20]; 16. 45X-Rees Moran[21]; 17. 5-Brenham Crouch[19]; 18. 44-Chris Martin[8]; 19. 19H-Kaleb Johnson[22]; 20. 87X-Logan Seavey[17]; 21. 36-Jason Martin[16]; 22. 9R-Chase Randall[18]; 23. 24D-Danny Sams III[13]; 24. 2-Miles Paulus[24]
The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 18, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from April 18 drawing
24-25-39-46-61, Powerball: 01, Power Play: 5
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 18 drawing
Midday: 5-8-2
Midday Wild: 3
Evening: 3-8-5
Evening Wild: 1
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 18 drawing
Midday: 0-1-6-1
Midday Wild: 2
Evening: 4-7-6-9
Evening Wild: 5
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 18 drawing
Early Bird: 08
Morning: 01
Matinee: 05
Prime Time: 04
Night Owl: 05
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Show Me Cash numbers from April 18 drawing
07-10-21-27-33
Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from April 18 drawing
02-38-45-53-63, Powerball: 21
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.
To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:
Ticket Redemption
Missouri Lottery
P.O. Box 7777
Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777
For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.
For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.
When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
- Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
- Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
- Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
- Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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