A judge on July 22 overturned the murder conviction of a Missouri man, Christopher Dunn, who has spent more than three decades in prison for a fatal shooting he has maintained he did not commit.
Mr. Dunn, 52, was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1990 shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers. He has been serving a sentence of life without parole.
His conviction was primarily based on the testimony of 14-year-old DeMorris Stepp and 12-year-old Michael Davis Jr., who claimed they witnessed the fatal shooting. They later recanted as adults, claiming they were coerced by police and prosecutors.
No physical evidence linked Mr. Dunn to the crime, but the two boys told police at the time that they saw him standing in the gangway of the house next door, just minutes before shots rang out.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed a motion in February seeking to vacate the 1990 guilty verdict, citing “clear and convincing evidence of Christopher Dunn’s actual innocence.”
St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser ruled on July 22 that the Circuit Attorney’s Office has made “a clear and convincing showing of ‘actual innocence’ that undermines the basis for Dunn’s convictions because in light of new evidence, no juror, acting reasonably, would have voted to find Dunn guilty of these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Judge Sengheiser said that the witnesses’ recantations prompted a new examination because their testimony was the only thing connecting Mr. Dunn to the crime.
“The State of Missouri shall immediately discharge Christopher Dunn from its custody,” he ordered.
Mr. Dunn remained in prison after his conviction was overturned. It is unclear when he will be released as the Missouri Attorney General’s Office has appealed the judge’s ruling.
Previous Ruling on Dunn’s Innocence Case
Midwest Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal group that represented Mr. Dunn, said it was “overjoyed” with the ruling and that Mr. Dunn is now looking forward to spending time with his family “as a free man.”The group said that Texas County Circuit Judge William Hickle also found in 2020 that Mr. Dunn was innocent but could not free him because Missouri’s law stipulates that innocence alone is insufficient to overturn a person’s conviction unless the person is on death row.
“Missouri is the only state in the nation to limit innocence claims by a person’s sentence,” the Midwest Innocence Project stated.
“Since Chris was sentenced to life in prison plus 90 years, he remained trapped behind bars for an additional four years. That is intolerable and unjust.”
