For Christopher Dunn, the Feb. 7 announcement by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore was a moment of deja vu. Less than a year had passed since May 15, 2023, when then-Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced that she would file a motion to vacate Dunn’s 1991 murder conviction.
Days later, however, Gardner resigned her position with an office in crisis — leaving Dunn’s path to freedom in limbo. He could do nothing but wait for St. Louis’ new circuit attorney to look at his case for innocence.
“I've been down this road before,” Dunn said. He spoke to St. Louis on the Air days after Gore announced the filing of a new motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction.
Like Gardner, Gore found the conviction rested entirely on witness testimony. Both witnesses, who were 12 and 14 at the time of the killing, later recanted their claims that an 18-year-old Dunn was the shooter behind the 1990 killing of Ricco Rogers.
In 2020, Texas County Circuit Judge William E. Hickle stated about the case, “This court does not believe that any jury would now convict Christopher Dunn under these facts.”
Yet, Dunn remains behind bars. Although Gore’s motion follows the same legal process that freed Lamar Johnson and Kevin Strickland, Dunn said he has to be protective of his expectations.
“I still have to live in prison, with the uncertainty that I may possibly die in prison,” he noted. “We just got over one of the largest hurdles. We haven't reached the finish line yet.”
On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air, Dunn discussed his yearslong efforts to prove his innocence and reflected on the unusual series of events that’s led two St. Louis prosecutors and a Missouri judge to support his freedom. The show also featured a conversation with Dunn’s wife, Kira Dunn, and Rachel Wester, managing attorney for the Midwest Innocence Project.
To hear more from Christopher Dunn, and how his wife, Kira, and supporters are working to secure his freedom, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
