Update: Angel Bumpass’s was released November 3, 2022, after Chattanooga businessman Kenneth Adams posted her $100,000 bond. Originally, the prosecution had asked the judge to raise Bumpass’s bond from $300,000 to $600,000, while her legal team asked for her to be released on her own recognizance. She has a status hearing January 17, 2023.
Original Story
At the age of 23, Angel Bumpass sits incarcerated, serving a 60-year-sentence for a murder that occurred when she was just 13-years-old. On her way out of the courtroom following her sentencing, Angel’s last words were, “I’ll never see my kids again.” Ironically, her 46-year-old male co-defendant who she does not know personally was found not guilty.
“None of [Angel’s] fingerprints were found on the home’s surfaces…”
Since the airing of her case on A&E’s hit show Accused: Guilty or Innocent, Angel’s appeal has gained traction, with her family setting up a Change.org petition. The outrage stems over the fact that the prosecution, outside of two fingerprints on duct tape used to suffocate the victim, nothing linked Angel to the murder. None of her fingerprints were found on the home’s surfaces, while nine unidentified prints were. Moreover, with the jury rejecting to convict her male co-defendant, it seems the jury is saying either she could have bound and killed the male victim herself or she assisted and was covering for someone else.
To begin with, Angel Bumpass was 13 at the time of the murder. No one on the prosecution’s side knows what role, if any, she played in the murder. At worst, she could have been a child under the duress of an adult and, thereby, a kidnapping victim. She would be a victim, not an assailant. Also, the tape could have already had her fingerprints on it and been stolen from her garage.
“The lead investigator…was charged with evidence tampering…”
It’s also worth mentioning that one of the lead detectives in Angel’s cases, Karl Fields, was fired for making advances toward a rape victim whose assault he was investigating. As an investigator, Fields was accused of everything from coaching witnesses to losing evidence. Fields was even charged with tampering with and fabricating evidence before, in an unrelated case. Though the charges were dropped, the charges show what type of corrupt cop he was. This is the man whose testimony and investigation helped jail a mother. This alone is call for a retrial and her to be released.
Angel Bumpass. Say her name. Write it down. Never forget it. Go to Change.org and sign her petition. She and her children need you now more than ever. Help us fight this constant oppressive system of racial injustice.
*Jermaine Reed, MFA is a college professor and writer from Chicago who writes fiction, local news stories and national news stories. Please join his email list to get updates on blog posts, writing advice and free books. Get his recently released Science Fiction novel A Glitch in Humanity by clicking here.
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The Reeders Block 
I was with you until you brought race into it. Angel was convicted because her attorneys did not get one shred of evidence to the jury that would have given even a hint of reasonable doubt. She would have been convicted no matter what color she was. Her attorneys were 2 of the worst attorneys I have ever seen. I have been a paralegal for 23 years, been involved with countless trials and in the presence of hundreds of attorneys. They could have done so much more…. they didn’t. You should be ashamed of yourself and call it like it is. Blame the attorneys!!! They are the reason she sits in prison away from her precious children. And for the record…. I am Native American so please, kind sir…. you don’t want to even start talking about race with me! I don’t see color…. and it is a shame that you do.
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I disagree.
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I agree with your response.
I guess “Professor J” would have everyone who doesn’t agree with him, go study critical race theory.
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I agree with Sarah 100%. I, also, was with you until you brought race into it. There were black members on that jury. That same jury found Angel’s co-defendent, Mallory Vaughn, who is a black man, NOT guilty. You are blaming black members of the jury for racial oppression. Perhaps, you need to concentrate on fixing the racial problems that exist amongst the black race themselves against others of their own race. But, this case isn’t about race. It’s about terrible representation on the side of the defense, for one. In the first place, Angel never should have been tried as an adult. But, she was. Her attorneys should have spent much more time putting emphasis on the fact that a 13-year-old small female child would never have been able to commit that crime by herself. If she were there, why was she there? Her defense should have shown that if she were at the crime scene, it would be because someone else forced her there. Her defense should’ve shown there was no motive. Her defense should have illustrated how someone else could have committed the crime. Her defense attorneys seem to have had zero experience defending murder cases. Hopefully, she has better attorneys this next time around.
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I disagree. Go study critical race theory and come back later.
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I know you do, you wrote the article
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CRT is a theory that hasn’t been proven. Theories are based on someone’s opinion, not facts or truths. I have found differing opinions on what CRT is, here is one such opinion:
“….intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans.”
Theorists want us to believe that all “U.S. law and legal institutions are inherently racist …” I don’t buy into it one bit. The U.S. Congress, State Legislatures, County and City governments make the laws, not the institutions. What do these institutions have to do with social, economic, and political inequalities? They aren’t in charge of any of those areas. It’s as if theorists wish to blame law and legal institutions for enforcing laws instead of blaming individuals for committing serious crimes.
I acknowledge racism exists in some individuals and in some areas, but to blanket the entire U.S.? No. African Americans make up 13-15% of the entire U.S. population, much of that percentage lives in larger cities in a few southern states, a few northern states, and Los Angeles. Take care of the few places and few instances where these problems exist. Theorists, promoters, and politicians need to stop acting like it’s one humongous race problem involving the entire country. Most of us don’t live in those areas and cannot vote to change those local, county, and state leaders or laws. Using the correct pathways is the way to make change come about. Instead of promoting critical race theory, teach the proper steps of how to actually resolve a problem in the community and state.
If you would like to explain how Angel’s experience helps prove critical race theory exists, then do so because I don’t see it in her case. I did notice in your article how you conveniently left out that there were black jury members, that Mallory Vaughn is a black man that they acquitted, and that Karl Fields- the corrupt investigator- is, also, a black man.
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To all of that, I say, our country’s institutions, to a degree, are inherently racist. U can’t know that this country was founded in-part by racists but deny any of their ideas slipped into the founding of our country’s “greatest” institutions.
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I agree. This had nothing to do with race. The codefendant, who was also black, walked. This was a cluster f from the beginning. Her attorneys were garbage. Her family is a mess of lies. The prosecution was weak. And the jury must have been the most gullible of the back woods hicks. I hope to God that she gets a fair retrial. 9 other unidentified fingerprints? Come on.
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White chicks? Great to see who are really the racists in the 21st century. I recall OJ Simpson walking….black guy…2 murders. I despise racist idiots. I grew up in a boys home….then joined the Army….there is no race in those places, just people…cool people or not cool people. Now I have 50% black and 50% white neighbors. Try to freaking grow up and pull your head out of your racist mindset….it is nauseating.
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Too many hearts and prayers going up to Our Father for her not to be released. At times life isn’t fair. But sometimes The Lord Intervenes…Thank you J Reed for this article. I’m a follower now. Not only for Angel’s travesty but your other stories as well. God Bless
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Thanks for your support. Hopefully, she’ll be out this year.
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I can’t tell you what a miscarriage of justice this is!! I’m so disgusted I can barely contain myself!!! The testimony of the grandmother’s boyfriend shows reasonable doubt. Any judge with half a brain would see that!!! Find out who the other nine finger prints belong to then proceed with the case. Plain and simple. The state of Tennessee and the attorneys let this poor woman down! It’s a black eye on our legal system!! If I can see that why couldn’t they??? I don’t get it!!!#justiceforangel
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This is definitely a great miscarriage of justice. I have faith that our system will right this blatant wrong.
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