Kristine Bunch was recently released on $5,000 bail after she was granted a new trial earlier this month. (Read more here.) Bunch was convicted in 1996 of setting a fire that killed her 3-year-old son. However, new fire science suggested that the fire was not arson as originally thought.
Bunch’s attorney, Ron Safer, told the Associated Press that prosecutors “did exactly the right thing” in recommending Bunch be released on low bond, but he is still disappointed they are moving forward with retrial in light of the scientific evidence.
Bunch will live with her mother and 16-year-old son while awaiting the outcome of the new trial. Still, she is not taking her freedom for granted. “I can learn how to Facebook,” she said. “All of my friends tell me they’re on Facebook.” She also hopes to teach her son how to drive. Bunch earned her GED and a college degree during her 16 years in prison and hopes to go to law school to help other wrongfully convicted inmates.
Read more here.
Fire science has increasingly been discredited and the subject of several wrongful conviction stories in recent years. NCIP client George Souliotes has been fighting to prove his innocence in a fatal arson case for many years. Finally, his case is being heard. Read more about the Souliotes case here.
