ST. LOUIS — Christopher Dunn walked out of the downtown courthouse on Tuesday as a free man for the first time in nearly 34 years.
The 52-year-old who was found innocent by a judge last week in a 1990 ºüÀêÊÓƵ murder smiled, closed his eyes and put his hand over his heart as he walked into the sunshine.
He thanked his wife, family and lawyers. He answered questions with a smile. And he hugged his mother and kissed her head.
“I’ve got a life to live now,†he said. “It’s time to move forward.â€
Dunn’s exit from the courthouse followed a Missouri Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day that outlined legal procedures for his release.
The Supreme Court ruled Dunn’s “actual innocence†of the crime took away his conviction, but his underlying murder charge remained. That meant he couldn’t be released from prison until ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore’s office, which fought to overturn Dunn’s conviction, dismissed the underlying charges.
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Gore’s office dismissed Dunn’s charges roughly 90 minutes after the Supreme Court’s order on Tuesday was filed, according to spokesperson Christine Bertelson.
That dismissal means “Chris’ nightmare comes to an end,†the Midwest Innocence Project said in a statement. “He is coming home.â€
Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision came roughly a week after Judge Jason Sengheiser found Dunn actually innocent in the 1990 killing of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers. The state’s two key witnesses had recanted their testimony.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey appealed and ordered Dunn to remain in prison pending an appeal.
Two days later, Gore’s office called an emergency hearing and Sengheiser ordered Dunn released immediately.
Bailey’s office then filed with the Missouri Supreme Court to again stop his release. That temporary stay was granted, and Dunn has remained in prison since.
In subsequent filings, Bailey’s office argued that Dunn should remain in prison pending the appeal and that Bailey’s office should have the ultimate say in whether his underlying charges should remain.
But lawyers for Dunn argued in filings that the Circuit Attorney’s Office was in charge of such questions and that he should be released because he was no longer convicted of a crime. They also said Bailey’s office had no right to appeal.
The Supreme Court did not rule on whether Bailey’s office has a right to appeal in such innocence cases.
Members of the Missouri NAACP and other racial and legal justice organizations gathered outside Bailey’s downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ office earlier Tuesday to criticize his opposition to Dunn’s release.
On Tuesday afternoon, Dunn and his supporters held a press conference on the courthouse steps.
“ºüÀêÊÓƵ,†he said, “we did it.â€
And he kept smiling as he walked down the steps to a sidewalk on Market Street toward the Gateway Arch.
Then he got into the passenger seat of a car, and drove away.