A woman who served 40 years in prison for her husband’s 1984 murder has been released just in time to spend Christmas with her family.
Patty Prewitt, Missouri’s longest-serving female prisoner, was one of nine people whose sentences were commuted by Governor Mike Parson on Friday.
“I am so grateful to be home with my family for Christmas,” she said in a statement after being released. “Thank you to Governor Mike Parson and to all the people who have supported me over the years.”
Prewitt, a 75-year-old grandmother, was serving a life sentence for the murder of her husband, William “Bill” Edward Prewitt, on February 18, 1984, while he slept in their rural Missouri home in Holden.
The murder shocked the small community, which knew the couple as a “all-American couple,” according to previous coverage by The Kansas City Star.
Prewitt claimed that an intruder broke into their home and attacked them while they slept. She claimed her husband, 35, was shot and she was attacked with a knife.
However, at the time, investigators stated that there was no evidence of forced entry and named Prewitt as a suspect.
The murder weapon was discovered in a pond on the couple’s property, and investigators suspected that a boot print found in the pond bed matched those of Patty Prewitt.
During the trial, prosecutors claimed Prewitt attempted to dispose of the gun by throwing it into a pond, but when it became stuck, she waded into the water and pushed it down with her boot.
Prewitt declined a plea deal that would have allowed her to be paroled after five to seven years. Instead, she was sentenced to life in prison, becoming the state’s longest-serving female inmate.
The mother of five has maintained her innocence for years, despite criticism from lawyers and advocates who blame her imprisonment on an inadequate investigation and flawed trial.
Prewitt filed numerous clemency requests over the years, with the support of her family, including their five children, who claimed she was wrongfully convicted and fought for her release.
According to a website advocating for her clemency, investigators ignored credible leads pointing to an intruder and failed to collect crucial evidence that could have identified the person who Prewitt claims assaulted her and murdered her husband.
Prewitt was released on Friday, according to the Associated Press, and is currently enjoying the holiday with her family, according to social media posts. Prewitt’s commuted sentence does not absolve her of her murder conviction, but it does grant her parole, according to reports.
Her case was among nine commuted sentences and 16 pardons issued by the governor on Friday, including Eric DeValkenaere, a former Kansas City police detective convicted in 2021 of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb, a Black man, in December 2019.
