An episode of a crime documentary show featuring a Chattanooga homicide case is set to air on network television Thursday evening.
On A&E, Thursday’s episode of “The Accused: Guilty or Innocent” will follow up on the case surrounding the 2009 homicide of 68-year-old Franklin Bonner.
(READ MORE: New A&E show airing Tuesday will feature high-profile Chattanooga murder case)
Angel Bumpass, who was 13 at the time of Bonner’s death, was convicted of felony murder in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.
She was given a chance to retry her case in 2022 after a judge found errors in her first trial. Bumpass has consistently maintained her innocence. She was released from jail after that decision, thanks to a local businessman who posted her bond after seeing her episode of “The Accused.”
In August, as Bumpass’ attorneys were preparing for the new trial, her case was dismissed by a Hamilton County Criminal Court judge. It was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can decide to bring the case up again.
“We know we have a missing suspect at this point — maybe more than one suspect. We know that there is at least one person responsible for this criminal offense who has not yet been located or identified as a suspect,” District Attorney Coty Wamp said at the time of the dismissal. “It is my opinion that we must refocus our efforts on identifying the individual who did this.”
The case was dismissed after attorneys defending Bumpass said they were in “meaningful talks” with the District Attorney’s Office to resolve the case.
Thursday’s episode, titled “After the Verdict: Angel’s Second Chance” is set to feature the Chattanooga Times Free Press and former reporter La Shawn Pagán, who covered Bumpass’ case for the paper.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga murder case involving Angel Bumpass will get a second television episode)
The episode airs on A&E at 10 p.m. and should be available to stream on A&E’s streaming platform, Hulu or Amazon Prime Video after Thursday.
Bumpass has been featured in two previous episodes of “The Accused,” and her case was covered on the podcast “Women and Crime.” Her case sparked national attention and an online petition for her new trial gathered nearly 900,000 signatures.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.