News Archive

Professor Fran Watson, '80, talked with the Indianapolis Star for a news story about Kristine Bunch and the state of Indiana's new policy of compensating the wrongfully convicted. Bunch spent 17 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted following a fire that killed her 3-year-old son.A story about the decision appears in the Indianapolis Star. (subscription required)

The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Bunch’s conviction in 2012 after two investigators with the state fire marshal’s office and an analyst with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives had fabricated evidence. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute decided October 15 that Bunch was eligible for compensation. A judge who serves on the board said there was “clear and convincing evidence” Bunch was innocent all along.

“I’m very optimistic that this process is going to work in Indiana and that we’re going to get results that are fair and provide justice for people deserving that justice,” Professor Watson said in the story.

Indiana’s exoneration fund can award up to $50,000 for every year a person was wrongfully incarcerated if there is strong evidence the person was innocent of the crime and had no role in planning it. Bunch doesn’t yet know how much money she will receive.

Bunch took part in an event at IU McKinney in 2018 to commemorate Wrongful Conviction Day. Professor Watson, Bunch, and several Wrongful Conviction Clinic clients advocated for Indiana’s compensation law.

Professor Watson is the founding director of the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at IU McKinney. She is a clinical professor of law and teaches in Law and Forensic Science, and Lawyering Practice, along with the Wrongful Conviction Clinic.