CWC client Kristine Bunch granted new trial
The Court of Appeals of Indiana on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, reversed and remanded the case of Kristine Bunch, a Center on Wrongful Convictions client who was convicted 16 years ago of the murder of her three-year-old son, who died when their trailer home went up in flames.
Within hours of the fire, which occurred in June 1995, investigators jumped to the conclusion that Bunch had intentionally set the fire — without any hint of a motive.
The fire investigators relied on indicators of arson that are outdated and have since been repudiated by forensic research.
In November 2008, CWC attorneys Jane Raley and Karen Daniel filed a state post-conviction petition for a new trial based on the conclusions of leading arson scientists and investigators from around the country that there is no evidence that the fire resulted from arson.
In addition, Raley and Daniel presented evidence that exculpatory information had been withheld from Bunch’s trial attorneys in violation of Brady v. Maryland.
The trial judge before whom Bunch’s case was tried denied relief in 2010, leading to the appeal decided on March 21. Raley and Daniel were joined in the appeal by Ronald Safer, a member of the CWC Advisory Board and managing partner of Schiff Hardin LLP, who argued the case before the Court of Appeals.
