Missouri Supreme Court blocks release of man whose conviction was overturned after more than 30 years in prison
For more than 30 years, Christopher Dunn has been incarcerated in Missouri, accused of a murder he insisted he did not commit.
For more than 30 years, Christopher Dunn has been incarcerated in Missouri, accused of a murder he insisted he did not commit. Freedom seemed within his grasp when a circuit judge overturned his conviction and ordered for his release Wednesday — only to be overruled when the state Supreme Court granted the attorney general’s request for a stay.
The legal showdown over Dunn’s release marks the second time in a matter of weeks that Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey has fought a court order to release an inmate who was found to be wrongly convicted.
Last month, Sandra Hemme, 64, the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman known in the U.S., had her conviction overturned, only to have Bailey appeal her release, keeping her behind bars. Ultimately, she was released July 19 after a judge threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt of court.
Christopher Dunn.Kira Dunn via APDunn, now 52, was 18 when he was accused of fatally shooting Ricco Rogers, 15, on the night of May 18, 1990.
Though there was no physical evidence in the case linking Dunn to the shooting, he was convicted of first-degree murder in a case that heavily relied on two young witnesses who claimed to see the shooting. Those witnesses, who were 12 and 14, later recanted their testimony as adults and said they were coerced by prosecutors and police.
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