The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that the attorney general can appeal a ruling that vacated Christopher Dunn’s conviction.
Dunn, who was exonerated for a wrongful murder conviction and has maintained his innocence, spent 34 years in prison. The court ruled 4-3 on Tuesday to return the case to the appeals court, in a decision written by Judge Ginger K. Gooch.
Dunn’s case followed the 1990 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood. The conviction was primarily based around the testimony of two boys who later recanted and said prosecutors and police officers had coerced them to make their statements.
Missouri Circuit Judge William Hickle ruled in 2020 that it would be unlikely that a jury would convict Dunn based on the evidence but declined to release him, arguing that a 2016 ruling only allows people on death row to make a claim for actual innocence.
But a Missouri law passed in 2021 allowed prosecutors to file petitions for convicted people they believe are innocent.
Judge W. Brent Powell, who wrote the dissenting opinion Tuesday, said Missouri law doesn’t allow the attorney general to appeal because the law only gives that power to circuit and prosecuting attorneys.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner had announced in 2023 that she would file a motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction but resigned soon after. Months later, Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore moved to vacate the conviction.
Last year, St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser ruled that Dunn was wrongly convicted, leading to his release. Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed an appeal, and the state Supreme Court issued an emergency stay, holding Dunn until he was released days later when the court lifted the stay and Gore dropped the charges.
The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Retired Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff said the appeal is unusual because the case has already been dismissed.
“I think it's highly, highly likely that the Court of Appeals is going to affirm what Judge Sengheiser did,” Wolff said.
The Court of Appeals will only review Judge Sengheiser’s decision and won’t get new evidence.
“There is really a presumption that the trial court, when it makes a factual decision, is correct because Judge Sengheiser is the one who saw the witnesses, heard their testimony, looked at the evidence and was there at the trial,” Wolff said. “The Court of Appeals is not a trial court, it just reads the paper.”
Wolff said all parties will submit briefs, and it could be next year before the court makes a decision. In the meantime though, Dunn is out of prison.
“That's a good thing,” Wolff said. “But I suppose for him, what's bad is you still don't know what's going to happen at the end of the road of this appeal.”
Last year, Christopher Dunn and his wife, Kira, spoke to St. Louis on the Air about adjusting to life outside prison. Kira Dunn said Wednesday that Tuesday’s ruling is the latest hurdle for the family.
“After all the trauma and loss Chris has endured and survived, this feels like being dragged back into the mud of fear and uncertainty again, just when he was getting his bearings,” she said in a text message.
This isn’t the first time Bailey has fought to prevent the release of someone found to be wrongfully imprisoned. Bailey’s office had argued that Sandra Hemme should remain in prison after she was released after being wrongfully convicted of killing a St. Joseph woman in 1980. Hemme, who was sedated when she confessed, spent 43 years in prison until a judge ordered her release last year.
