My family and I are asking for your support for my aunt, Sherrie Bunten, a loving sister, aunt, and deeply compassionate person who is seeking a second chance at life after serving over 14 years of an extremely harsh sentence for her first felony offense.

Sherrie’s life has never been easy. From a very young age, she endured severe mental, physical, and sexual abuse, followed later by domestic abuse as an adult. These experiences deeply shaped her life and the choices she made. As she has openly acknowledged, her crime was serious, and she has always taken full responsibility for her actions. She has never denied that she deserved punishment. One blessing she remains grateful for is that no one was physically hurt as a result of her offense.

At the age of 37, Sherrie was sentenced to 42 years in prison. If she serves her full sentence, she will be nearly 79 years old when she is released. For a first-time offense, this punishment has taken away almost her entire adult life. Despite this, Sherrie has not allowed prison to define who she is or who she is becoming. Over the past 14 years, she has shown remarkable growth, humility, and resilience. She has never received a single infraction or write-up during her incarceration. She earned her 8th grade diploma and GED, completed countless self-improvement and rehabilitation programs, and now works as a press operator in a prison print shop, maintaining steady employment and responsibility. Through years of reflection, education, and faith, she has learned to love who she is becoming and to use her painful past not as an excuse but as a source of strength.

Sherrie speaks often about forgiveness, accountability, and believing in others. She prays for the day she can share her story with the world and help others understand that there is life beyond trauma, beyond mistakes, and beyond prison walls. She truly believes that no matter what someone has endured or done, growth, healing, and redemption are possible.

Now, for the first time, Sherrie has an opportunity to pursue legal relief that could reduce her sentence and allow her to come home to her family. We have already made a down payment toward legal representation, but we need help raising $10,500 to continue this process. Legal advocacy is expensive, and we cannot do this alone. Every donation, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to giving Sherrie the chance to be seen not only for her worst mistake, but for the 14 years of hard work, accountability, and transformation that followed. If you are unable to donate, we ask that you please consider sharing this page or keeping our family in your prayers.

There is so much more to Sherrie than her conviction. She is a woman who has survived abuse, taken responsibility, changed her life, and continues to grow every single day. We believe she is worthy of a second chance, and we hope you will, too. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading, sharing, supporting, and believing in the power of redemption.