The Center on Wrongful Convictions just won a tremendous victory in the Kristine Bunch case in the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Reversed and remanded!
CWC Senior Staff Attorney Jane Raley did terrific work on the case for years.
Ronald Safer, managing partner of Schiff Hardin LLP and member of the CWC Advisory Board, argued the appeal.
Briefly:
Bunch’s trailer home went up in flames, killing her three-year-old son. Within hours, investigators jumped to the conclusion that Bunch had intentionally set the fire — without any hint of a motive. These investigators relied on indicators of arson that are outdated and have since been repudiated by forensic research. In November 2008, the CWC 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, we have uncovered Brady material that was not tendered to the defense prior to trial. The post-conviction judge, who was also the trial judge, denied the petition after an evidentiary hearing. We appealed, leading to today’s decision.
Here’s a link to the opinion: