Christopher Dunn, who has spent 33 years in prison for a murder he maintains he did not commit, recently had a hearing to determine whether he should be released. St. Louis prosecutors now believe Dunn’s claims of innocence, but lawyers for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office are opposing his release. Dunn, now 52, is serving life without parole for the 1990 murder of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers. The case against Dunn was based on the testimonies of two boys who later recanted, alleging that they were coerced by police and prosecutors. Dunn’s legal team argues that he was at his mother’s house at the time of the shooting and could not have committed the murder.
In May 2023, then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed a motion to vacate Dunn’s sentence, but she resigned days later. The case was then taken up by Gabe Gore, who was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson and decided to conduct his own investigation. Recently, a Missouri law adopted in 2021 allowed prosecutors to request hearings when there is evidence of a wrongful conviction. The law has resulted in the release of two men who each spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit. The current hearing for Dunn is seen as an opportunity to correct a miscarriage of justice and right a wrong that has kept an innocent man behind bars for over three decades.
At a hearing in 2020, Judge William Hickle agreed that there was enough new evidence to suggest that a jury would likely find Dunn not guilty. However, he declined to exonerate Dunn at the time due to a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that limited claims of actual innocence to death row inmates. The 2021 law now allows for cases like Dunn’s to be re-examined and potentially lead to his release. This law has already resulted in the release of two other wrongly convicted individuals, Kevin Strickland and Lamar Johnson, who had collectively spent over 60 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.
In Dunn’s case, there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder of Ricco Rogers, only the testimonies of the two boys who later recanted. Despite the Attorney General’s argument that evidence shows Dunn was the shooter regardless of the witness testimonies, the current legal proceedings are focused on proving Dunn’s innocence and securing his release. The hope is that after over three decades of wrongful imprisonment, justice will finally be served for Christopher Dunn, allowing him to regain his freedom and move forward with his life.
The recent efforts to overturn Dunn’s conviction are part of a larger movement to address wrongful convictions and ensure that justice is served. Other cases, such as that of Marcellus Williams, who narrowly escaped execution for a murder conviction due to new DNA evidence, further highlight the importance of re-examining past convictions. The efforts to correct these miscarriages of justice serve as a reminder of the flaws in the legal system and the need for continuous improvement to prevent future wrongful convictions. As the legal proceedings continue, the hope is that Christopher Dunn, along with others who have been wrongly convicted, will soon see justice prevail and be able to reclaim their lives after years of unjust imprisonment.
