Attorney General Andrew Bailey is again attempting to put Christopher Dunn in prison.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Bailey, representing the State of Missouri, can appeal a 2024 judgment that exonerated Christopher Dunn of murder, which led to his release from prison.
St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser ruled in July 2024 that the testimony leading to Dunn’s conviction for murder May 1990 murder of Ricco Rogers had been recanted.
The judge also noted an expert witness who testified to the inefficiency of some “eyewitness identifications” and “troubling aspects of the case” in making his ruling.
“The Circuit Attorney has made a clear and convincing showing of ‘actual innocence’ that undermines the basis of Dunn’s convictions because in the light of new evidence no juror ‘acting reasonably’ would have found Dunn guilty of the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt,” Sengheiser wrote in his ruling.
On May 18, 1990, 15-year-old Rogers was shot and killed in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood. Dunn, who was 18 years old at the time, was arrested for the murder.
The case against Dunn relied solely on the eyewitness testimonies of two children — one 12-year-old and one 14-year-old — both who later recanted. Dunn was convicted in 1991 of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and armed criminal action and received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
The recantations of the young eyewitnesses’ testimonies alone were enough to indicate “clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence,” Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore wrote in his motion to vacate.
Dunn was convicted in 1991 for the shooting death of 14-year-old Rico Rodgers. He was sentenced to life without parole, in addition to multiple sentences for assault and armed criminal action. His conviction was based on the testimony of two teenage witnesses who later recanted, stating they had been pressured by police. No physical evidence ever tied Dunn to the crime.
Bailey filed an appeal, “arguing that the state has a legal interest in preserving the finality of convictions and that allowing old cases to be overturned could diminish public confidence in the justice system,” according to Kenya Brumfield-Young, a St. Louis University assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice
The case will now proceed with the Missouri Court of Appeals.
“The ruling does not overturn Dunn’s release but places it at risk, as the attorney general now has the opportunity to argue for the reinstatement of convictions that two different courts have ruled were wrongfully imposed. Dunn’s legal status remains in limbo pending the outcome of the appeal,” Brumfield-Young shared with The American.
“Although the attorney general cited finality as a reason to pursue appeal, the Dunn case stands out because it does not rest on procedural error or insufficient doubt. It is grounded in two independent judicial findings that the evidence supports actual innocence.
“The outcome of the appeal will determine whether those findings are allowed to stand or whether the state will continue efforts to re-incarcerate a man the courts have twice said should never have been convicted.”
Their blood thirst never ends … Bailey is a petty, bitter tool. His quest to re incarcerate an innocent Black man, while pardoning a guilty murderer is all you need to know about his evil intent.