CLIENT
Christopher Dunn
- Exonerated: 2024
- County of Conviction: St. Louis City
- Convicted of: First-degree murder, assault in the first degree, armed criminal action
- Sentence: Life without parole
- Years Served: 33+
Breaking News Update:
7/30/24: Today, the Missouri Supreme Court cleared the way for Christopher Dunn’s release from custody after 34 years of incarceration. The Court lifted the emergency stay of Judge Sengheiser’s order and correctly held that Judge Sengheiser’s finding of actual innocence had immediately overturned Dunn’s wrongful convictions. The only remaining legal formality was to dismiss the original criminal charges so that Chris can walk free. Thus, with Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore’s dismissal of those charges this afternoon, Chris’ nightmare comes to an end. He is coming home.
We are thrilled that Chris will finally be reunited with his family after 34 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. We look forward to supporting Chris as he rebuilds his life. But our joy in welcoming Chris home is tempered by the additional days and moments stolen from him by this week’s proceedings. We are grateful for the outpouring of support from all corners of the country over the past few days. As we all observed, that was not justice.
Tragically, this is not the first time the Missouri Attorney General has fought to keep an innocent person in prison. We hope it will be the last. Chris Dunn deserved better. Ricco Rogers and his family deserved better. As a nation, we deserve better.
Until that day comes, we will celebrate that Chris will finally return home to his family as a free man. This result would not have been possible without the persistence of Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore and special prosecutors Judge Booker Shaw, Rachael Moore, and Layla Husen of Thompson Coburn LLP. Their work was integral to securing Chris’ freedom, which is long overdue.
We look forward to being a part of Chris’ next chapter, and we are honored to support him as he rebuilds his life alongside his loved ones. If you would like to support Chris on his new journey, you can find his GoFundMe.
Christopher Dunn is represented by Rachel Wester and Tricia Rojo Bushnell ofthe Midwest Innocence Project, and Justin Bonus, and Jonathan Potts of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. The Midwest Innocence Project team includes investigators Blair Johnson and Luke Nozicka, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Fellow Isabel Guariglia, paralegal Leigh Ann Carroll, and social worker Courtney Ellis.