ST. LOUIS – Family members stood along the sidewalk in front of the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis Tuesday night and cheered when Christopher Dunn walked outside, taking some of his first steps of freedom following a wrongful murder conviction.
“I feel like I just want to get up and holler,” his mother, Martha Dunn, said. “That’s how I feel.”
Dunn was released after prosecutors fought to free him. He gives credit to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore, the Midwest Innocence Project, his family, and his attorney for his freedom.
“It shouldn’t have been this long,” Dunn said. “Nor should have it taken this long for everyone to come forward now.”
When asked what he missed out on due to his wrongful conviction, Dunn mentioned he lost his youth and suffered health problems in prison but added that’s not what he wants to focus on.
“If I hold on to the negativity, if I keep on holding on to the past, I would never be able to move forward,” he said. “So, for those that participated in my prosecution, I forgive you. I’m not going to forget, but I do forgive you.”
Dunn was just feet from freedom a few days ago after a judge ordered his release. His release was halted when the Missouri Attorney General’s Office argued against his release.
“It was torture,” Dunn said. “I mean, it’s something you shouldn’t have to put anyone through.”
Dunn said one of the first things he’s looking forward to doing is going to a baseball game. He credits having a strong family with the fact he continued to fight for his freedom.
“It’s easy to give up in prison when you lose hope but when the system chooses to throw you away, you have to ask yourself if you’re willing to just settle for it or are you going to fight for it,” he said.
Dunn spent the last 34 years behind bars for the 1990 murder of Ricco Rogers. He maintained his innocence the entire time, and two witnesses, ages 12 and 14, recanted their testimonies.
In 2020, a judge said there was evidence Dunn was innocent. Last May, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney filed a motion to vacate Dunn’s sentence. One year later, a judge overturned the conviction, ordering for his release. The judge noted there was evidence he was innocent of the crime.
Dunn was moments away from walking free last week until Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey made an appeal to keep him behind bars. Six days later, on Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that, with his conviction overturned, he had to be released back to St. Louis, where he was originally charged.
Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore then filed paperwork stating Dunn could not be retried, meaning not only was he free, but his record was wiped clean.
