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.”
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 could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
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 Attorney General’s Office plans to appeal the judge’s ruling, a spokesperson said.
