ST. LOUIS — Christopher Dunn has spent 33 years in prison for a murder he has claimed from the outset that he didn't commit. A hearing this week will determine if he should go free.
St. Louis prosecutors are now convinced Dunn is telling the truth, but lawyers for the Missouri Attorney General's Office want him kept behind bars. Dunn, 52, is serving life without parole at the state prison in Locking, Missouri. He wore a gray suit at the hearing Tuesday before Judge Jason Sengheiser.
A Missouri law adopted in 2021 allows prosecutors to request such hearings when they see evidence of a wrongful conviction. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed a motion in February seeking to vacate the 1990 guilty verdict, citing ''clear and convincing evidence of Christopher Dunn's actual innocence.''
Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers based largely on the testimony of two boys — 14-year-old DeMorris Stepp and 12-year-old Michael Davis Jr. — who said they witnessed the shooting. Both later recanted, claiming they were coerced by police and prosecutors.
Booker Shaw, a private attorney working on behalf of the circuit attorney, said Tuesday in his opening statement that Dunn was at his mother's house a few blocks away at the time of the shooting, watching TV with his mother and sister.
Assistant Attorney General Tristin Estep said neither police nor prosecutors coerced the witnesses to testify against Dunn, and evidence will show he was the shooter regardless of how their stories have changed.
''Over the past 34 years, Christopher Dunn has crafted a story, but not a convincing one,'' Estep said.
In May 2023, then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed a motion to vacate Dunn's sentence. But Gardner resigned days later, and after his appointment by Gov. Mike Parson, Gore wanted to conduct his own investigation. Gore announced in February that he would seek to overturn the conviction.