Missouri man has conviction overturned after serving more than 30 years in prison for 1990 murder

A Missouri man who has spent more than 30 years in prison for a murder he has long said he did not commit had his conviction overturned, possibly paving the way for his freedom.

Christopher Dunn was 18 when he was accused of fatally shooting 15-year-old Ricco Rogers on the night of May 18, 1990. Despite no physical evidence linking Dunn to the crime, he was convicted of first-degree murder, based largely on the testimony of two young witnesses who said they saw the shooting. (Dunn's mother and sister had said he was home with them at the time watching television and talking on their landline phone.)

The witnesses, who were 12 and 14, later recanted their testimony and said they were coerced by prosecutors and police.

Dunn was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

St. Louis City Judge Jason Sengheiser ruled on Monday, weeks after a hearing on the 52-year-old's fate, that the conviction should be overturned. He wrote that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore, who filed a motion in February seeking to vacate the guilty verdict, "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."

Court documents state that a man who said he was present when the shooting occurred testified at a 2018 hearing that the two young witnesses could not have identified Dunn as the shooter because it was too dark outside. The documents also state that Dunn's trial counsel "admitted to several failures" including their failure to speak to a "number of exculpatory witnesses" in the case.

The Midwest Innocence Project, which is representing Dunn, said it was "overjoyed" by the ruling.

"Now, Chris looks forward to spending time with his wife and family as a free man," the organization said in a statement.

Gore said the ruling was a "great day for Christopher Dunn and a great day for justice."

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office opposed vacating Dunn's conviction, stating at a hearing in May that the testimony from the two witnesses was correct, even though they recanted. Assistant Attorney General Tristin Estep said that the "verdict was accurate."

In a recorded interview played at the hearing, witness Michael Davis Jr. said that he lied and identified Dunn as the shooter because he thought Dunn was affiliated with a rival gang.

The other witness, DeMorris Stepp, has changed his story several times over the years and has said that he did not see Dunn as the shooter, Gore said at the hearing.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed a notice of appeal on Monday.

Dunn is the third person to be exonerated in Missouri since a law was passed in 2021 that allows prosecutors to seek the exoneration of people sentenced to life without parole. Kevin Strickland was freed in 2021 after more than 40 years in prison and Lamar Johnson was freed last year after serving nearly 28 years.

Previously, the law only allowed prosecutors to seek to overturn convictions in death penalty cases.