Christopher Dunn leaves the Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis in July 2024 after more than three decades in prison (photo courtesy of Midwest Innocence Project).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.
Dunn was released from prison on July 30, 2024, after serving 33 years.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey appealed the ruling, arguing that the state has a legal interest in preserving the finality of its convictions. In his filings, Bailey emphasized that overturning decades-old cases could erode public confidence in the justice system and create instability in criminal law. On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court agreed, ruling that the state is an aggrieved party under Missouri’s civil appeals statute and may challenge the judgment.
The case now returns to the Missouri Court of Appeals.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from legal advocates and reformers who believe the ruling prioritizes institutional preservation over the truth.
“Let’s be honest, this is not about public safety or accountability for the victim’s family. It is about maintaining control,” said one innocence advocate. “Two separate courts have said Christopher Dunn is innocent, yet the state continues to fight to keep him labeled a murderer.”
The family of Rico Rodgers, the 15-year-old who Dunn was convicted of killing in 1990, has waited more than 30 years for justice. But attempting to re-incarcrate someone who has been twice declared innocent will not bring peace. It further delays the opportunity to identify the true perpetrator and pursue meaningful accountability.
While the attorney general argues that vacating convictions may undermine public trust, many see it differently.
Nothing erodes confidence in the justice system more than fighting to keep an innocent person incarcerated.
