Man Finally Freed 8 Days After Conviction Overturned

AG was fighting to keep Christopher Dunn behind bars
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 25, 2024 1:00 AM CDT
Updated Jul 31, 2024 1:00 AM CDT
Court Blocks Release of Man Ordered Freed From Prison
FILE - Christopher Dunn, right, listens to his attorney Justin Bonus from New York City during the first day of his hearing to decide whether to vacate his murder conviction, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at the Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis.   (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, Pool, File)
UPDATE Jul 31, 2024 1:00 AM CDT

A Missouri man was freed from prison Tuesday after his murder conviction was overturned after 34 years behind bars, despite the state attorney general's efforts to keep him there. The Missouri Supreme Court issued a ruling stating that the St. Louis circuit attorney needed to confirm it had no plans to retry Christopher Dunn before he could be freed, the AP reports. Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore immediately filed a memorandum stating he would not seek a new trial, setting in motion the process toward Dunn's freedom. Dunn, 52, reunited with his wife, Kira Dunn, as he was officially released from the St. Louis city jail Tuesday night; he'd been moved there from the state prison.

Jul 25, 2024 1:00 AM CDT

The Missouri Supreme Court halted the immediate release Wednesday of a man whose murder conviction was overturned—just as the man was about to walk free, the AP reports. A St. Louis Circuit Court judge who overturned Dunn's murder conviction Monday, citing evidence of "actual innocence" in the 1990 killing, had then ordered Christopher Dunn, now 52, to be released by 6pm CDT Wednesday and threatened the prison warden with contempt if Dunn remained imprisoned. But Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been fighting Dunn's release.

The situation was chaotic as the deadline set by the judge approached. Corrections Department spokesperson Karen Pojmann told the AP that Dunn was out of the prison facility and waiting for a ride. His wife told the AP she was on his way to pick him up. Minutes later, Pojmann corrected herself and said that while Dunn was signing paperwork to be released, the Missouri Supreme Court issued a ruling that put his freedom on hold. Per KSDK, the high court gave the Circuit Court judge until 5pm Friday to file suggestions in opposition to the attorney general's writ, and the AG then has until 5pm Monday to file suggestions in reply to that.

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Dunn's situation is similar to what happened to Sandra Hemme. The 64-year-old woman spent 43 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a woman in St. Joseph in 1980. A judge on June 14 cited evidence of "actual innocence" and overturned her conviction. Appeals by Bailey—all the way up to the Missouri Supreme Court—kept Hemme imprisoned. During a court hearing Friday, Judge Ryan Horsman said that if Hemme wasn't released within hours, Bailey himself would have to appear in court with contempt of court on the table. Hemme was released later that day. The judge also scolded Bailey's office for calling the warden and telling prison officials not to release Hemme after he ordered her to be freed on her own recognizance.

(More Missouri stories.)

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