October 15, 2020

Woman wrongly convicted in son’s death will be compensated

By Associated Press on October 15, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A woman who spent 17 years in prison for a fire that killed her 3-year-old son will be compensated by Indiana for a wrongful conviction.

Kristine Bunch was declared eligible Thursday by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s Board of Trustees. It wasn’t immediately known how much she will receive, although the wrongly convicted are eligible for $50,000 for every year in prison, under state law.

There was “clear and convincing evidence” that Bunch was innocent, said Jackson County Judge AmyMarie Travis, one of the board members.

“I won’t ever get my day in court, but I got to hear it from these people here,“ Bunch told the Indianapolis Star. “So that closes a chapter and gives me a different outlook on things because I feel like it’s just been a black cloud that I’ve carried around.”