ST. LOUIS — City prosecutors say they will continue to work to free a man judged innocent of a 1990 murder from prison despite continued resistance from the state of Missouri.
A city circuit judge ordered Christopher Dunn, 52, released from state custody on Monday after overturning Dunn’s conviction for the killing of Ricco Rogers 34 years ago. But the state attorney general’s office quickly announced an appeal, and the Department of Corrections kept Dunn behind bars.
In a press conference Tuesday, lawyers who worked to free Dunn said they were optimistic they would prevail.
“There’s no legal basis for them to file the appeal in the first place,†said Booker Shaw, the former appeals court judge brought on by the Circuit Attorney’s Office to handle the case.
Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore sought Dunn’s release under a 2021 state law that allows prosecutors to request a hearing when they believe an innocent person has been wrongfully convicted. Gore, Shaw and others argued Dunn should be freed after the two boys who identified Dunn as the shooter recanted their testimony as adults.
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Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office opposed the effort, arguing the boys were coerced into recanting their testimony.
But ºüÀêÊÓƵ Judge Jason Sengheiser ultimately ruled in Dunn’s favor, finding that without the boys’ testimony, “no juror, acting reasonably, would have voted to find Dunn guilty of these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.â€
Dunn’s wife, Kira Dunn, said Tuesday she was “overjoyed†with the judge’s ruling and thanked the lawyers involved in advocating for her husband.
But she said she can’t fully celebrate until Christopher Dunn takes his first steps outside of prison walls.
“When that happens, I think all the feelings we’ve been holding on to will erupt,†she said.
Under Missouri court procedure, lawyers typically have 10 days after an order to file a notice of appeal. Then, the state Court of Appeals sets a schedule for future filings and potential arguments.
Gore said Tuesday the team was working on a strategy but would not say how it would play out.
The situation is “unprecedented,†Shaw said, because there have been so few cases brought under the 2021 law.
But in a recent, similar case, Bailey’s office used the appeals process and orders to the state Department of Corrections to keep a woman imprisoned for nearly a month after a judge ordered her release.
That woman, Sandra Hemme, was eventually released after a Livingston County judge threatened to hold Bailey in contempt.