Christopher Dunn was falsely convicted of fatally shooting a 14-year-old in 1991. He was later released after serving over three decades of a life sentence in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now, the state’s attorney general wants to put him back behind bars.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this week that Attorney General Andrew Bailey can appeal Dunn’s overturned conviction, according to the Missouri Independent.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this week that the state’s attorney general can appeal the overturned conviction of Christopher Dunn, a St. Louis man who spent more than three decades in prison for a 1990 murder he has always said he did not commit.
Two different Missouri judges have now determined that he is actually innocent.
Dunn was convicted in 1991 for the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Rico Rodgers. He was also found guilty of two counts of assault and three counts of armed criminal action. The conviction was based on testimony from two teenage eyewitnesses who later recanted, stating they were pressured by police. No physical evidence ever linked Dunn to the crime scene.
In 2020, Judge William Hickle reviewed Dunn’s case during a habeas corpus proceeding. Although Missouri law at the time did not allow relief in non-death penalty cases, Hickle wrote that Dunn had met the legal threshold for innocence and that no reasonable juror would convict him based on the current evidence.
Four years later, a relatively new innocence statute was in place in Missouri, and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney used it to filed a motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction. Judge Jason Sengheiser held an evidentiary hearing and reached the same conclusion as Hickle, finding clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence.
Christopher Dunn spent 3 decades in prison for a crime he did not commit. Despite prosecutors and judges finding Dunn innocent, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is using taxpayer money to try to imprison him again.
— Elad Gross 🇺🇸 (@BigElad) April 15, 2025
That should be grounds for impeachment and disbarment.
Christopher Dunn’s wife texted me saying, “This feels like Chris being victimized all over again just when he was getting his bearings in the free world.” https://t.co/SXWWEtDHo7
— Justina Coronel (@JustinaCoronel) April 17, 2025
Bailey argued that the state has a legal interest in maintaining its convictions and that allowing Dunn’s exoneration to stand would create distrust in the state’s justice system. The state’s Supreme Court concurred, claiming “the state is an aggrieved party under Missouri’s civil appeals statute and may challenge the judgment,” the Missouri Independent reported.
One innocence advocate slammed the ruling. “Let’s be honest, this is not about public safety or accountability for the victim’s family,” the individual said. “Two separate courts have said Christopher Dunn is innocent, yet the state continues to fight to keep him labeled a murderer.”
Former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff told KSDK it is unlikely that Dunn’s exoneration would be overturned. “On the evidence that was presented and the strength of the ruling that was made by Judge Sengheiser, I don’t expect that it’ll be reversed,” he said.
Dunn’s family lamented the Supreme Court’s ruling. “This feels like Chris being victimized all over again just when he was getting his bearings in the free world,” they said in a statement.