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51-year-old Christopher Dunn was arrested in connection to Ricco Rogers’ death in a 1990 fatal shooting. Dunn spent 33 years in jail for a murder that he claimed to have not committed. On Friday, May 12, a petition was filed by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to overturn Dunn’s conviction. Christopher Dunn is currently represented by attorneys from the Midwest Innocence Project.
Dunn was only 18 years old when he was convicted of being responsible for the shooting. The verdict was based on the testimonies of two witnesses. Later, the witnesses claimed that they were forced by state officials to testify against him.
According to Judge William Hickle, Christopher Dunn would likely be found not guilty based on new evidence, but would not be exonerated. Hickle further cited a 2016 Missouri Supreme Court ruling that stated that only death row inmates could “make a freestanding claim of their innocence.” It wasn’t applicable for those like Dunn, who was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Christopher Dunn's family members testified that he was at home at the time of the shooting
In 1991, Christopher Dunn was declared guilty of killing Ricco Rogers and was sentenced to life imprisonment without chances of parole. 15-year-old Rogers was killed in a shooting on May 18, 1990, and Dunn was convicted. Despite the conviction, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office filed a petition to overturn the verdict. The statement from the attorney’s office said,
“For the last 33 years, Mr. Dunn has been incarcerated for a crime in which there is clear and convincing evidence he did not commit. We have an ethical duty to work to correct this injustice.”
It was revealed that Christopher Dunn’s conviction was based on the testimonies of two boys who claimed to be witnesses, both of whom later claimed that they were forced to testify against Dunn by the state officials. It was also confirmed that no physical evidence linked Dunn to the crime.
During the trials, Christopher’s sister and mother testified his presence at home on the night that the shooting happened which killed Ricco. He reportedly was watching television and also spoke to a friend on the phone.
In 2020, Texas County Circuit Court Judge William Hickle reviewed the case and said that the jury couldn’t possibly convict Dunn under the given facts. However, he also mentioned that under Missouri law, the conviction cannot be overturned, unless the death penalty is involved in the sentencing.
Christopher Dunn’s lawyers have addressed the issue, stating:
“Until the legislature changes the law, only a prosecutor can petition a court to free an innocent defendant sentenced to anything less than death.”
The lawyers additionally said:
“We thank the circuit attorney’s office for her efforts to pursue justice in Chris’ case, and we look forward to presenting the evidence of his innocence to the court.”
Dunn’s lawyers believe that he should be the third one - after Kevin Strickland and Lamar Johnson - to get his conviction overturned
Christopher Dunn’s only hope of getting his conviction overturned is a 2021 law that permits prosecutors in a particular jurisdiction where somebody has been convicted, to ask the court to overturn the conviction. This is the same way Lamar Johnson and Kevin Strickland’s convictions were overturned.
The same law also allows state Attorney General Andrew Bailey to participate in the entire office. Kent Gipson, who represented Dunn in his previous trial, said,
“But I think that any fair-minded prosecutor looking at the facts of this case, regardless of their politics, will see that this is a case where an innocent man is in prison.”
Gipson spoke about Dunn, and said that he was almost about to give up all hope about getting his verdict overturned.
Christopher’s lawyers at the Midwest Innocence Project explained that they believe he should be freed based on the evidence that can overturn his wrongful conviction. They said,
“We are confident that when faced with such evidence, any Court will find, as Judge Hickle did nearly three years ago, that Christopher Dunn is innocent.”
Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner was successful in overturning the conviction of another individual named Lamar Johnson, who spent almost thirty years behind bars. Gardner took up this case after an investigation from her office revealed that Lamar was not guilty of the 1994 killing. He was convicted based on the testimony of an eyewitness who later stated that he lied after being forced into testifying against Lamar.
As has been mentioned before, Kevin Strickland’s conviction was also overturned. Strickland served over 40 years in jail after being declared guilty of a triple murder case that took place in Kansas City.
