Christopher Dunn spent 34 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. He spent more than half of his life in prison. Now at 52, a GoFundMe has been started to help Chris re-enter society. More than $35,000 has been raised by the community.

The case

Dunn was 18 years old when he was wrongly convicted of the May 18, 1990 murder of Ricco Rogers, 15, in St. Louis, Missouri. Despite no physical evidence linking Dunn to the crime, his conviction was largely based on the word of two boys who recanted their stories years ago. Chris has been fighting for his freedom for more than three decades – and, on July 30, 2024, he finally returned home after St. Louis City Judge Jason Sengheiser found him actually innocent and ordered his release.

He not only had the support of the Midwest Innocence Project, but also St. Louis’ top prosecutor. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office filed a motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction and presented evidence that Dunn has spent more than half of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Christopher Dunn’s innocence has been known for years

In 2020, a Missouri circuit court judge, after hearing all the evidence, determined that no juror would convict, but he was unable to free Dunn because in Missouri, innocence alone is not enough to overturn a person’s conviction unless they were sentenced to death. Missouri is the only state in the nation to limit innocence claims by a person’s sentence.

For Dunn, that meant he would have been freed in 2020 had he been sentenced to die. Instead, he remained behind bars for four additional years because he was sentenced to life in prison plus 90 years. Previously under Missouri law, only a prosecutor can ask a court to free an innocent person who was sentenced to anything less than death.

Life after false imprisonment

Dunn is now a free man but the real works begins as he rebuilds his life. The family has started a GoFundMe to help with this initiative.

‘Your support will help Chris re-enter society with some financial resources. Chris’ legal team is working pro bono and 100% of the funds raised here will go to him to help him rebuild his life. He needs our help.”

To donate or find out more, please visit the GoFundMe fundraiser.

Officer Connor Grubb faces murder charges for the shooting death of 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young in Ohio last August.

Young was pregnant and had two young sons at the time of her death. She would have turned 22 earlier this month.

What happened to Ta’Kiya Young?

Blendon Township Police Officer Connor Grubb is accused of shooting Young on August 24, 2023, after he confronted her in a grocery store parking lot following allegations that she had shoplifted.

Redacted body-camera footage and surveillance video released after the shooting show Grubb and another officer confronting Young in her vehicle. When her car began moving in the direction of Grubb, he fired a single shot into her windshield, which struck Young.

Fundraiser

Young’s family started a GoFundMe to support her boys and to deal with this “unexpected tradegy”.

Grubb has been indicted on four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, CNN reports.

His bond was set at $250,000.

To support Ta’Kiya Young’s family, visit the fundraiser here.

CBS presents 13 DAYS IN FERGUSON, a primetime special looking at the protests, riots and aftermath following the 2014 police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, airing Friday, Aug. 9 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

About 13 DAYS IN FERGUSON

The special features Cedric The Entertainer, a St. Louis area native who grew up next to Ferguson, reuniting with his longtime friend, retired lead task force officer Captain Ron Johnson, for an emotional journey, walking the streets of Ferguson in remembrance of the shocking events that took place there a decade ago.

Michael Brown Jr. (FAMILY HANDOUT PHOTO)

When unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, Jr. was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson following a confrontation in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, the killing triggered outrage, protests and rioting. Assigned to lead law enforcement efforts to defuse the violence was Capt. Ron Johnson, a Black State Police officer with close ties to the community. The Ferguson riots and protests were a watershed moment for a racially conflicted nation and for these two lifelong friends. The special also includes the first-ever sit-down discussion between Capt. Johnson and the victim’s father, Michael Brown, Sr.

Revisiting key places

Airing exactly 10 years after the shooting and the uprising that came in its wake, the special features Cedric and Capt. Johnson revisiting key places and recalling how, in a few hours, the confrontation between protesters and police escalated in a way that would grip the nation. Their frank, emotional and reflective conversations with each other, with Michael Brown, Sr., activists and other key figures in Ferguson, tell a moving story of how the community ultimately came together in a time of crisis.

“The story of Ferguson is the story of America,” says Cedric. “It’s important to tell this story now with my friend Ron Johnson because, with the benefit of 10 years, we can see the lessons learned, the progress made and the road ahead with more clarity. This is Ron’s elegy.”

“If I was going to step up to be a leader, then I had to accept whatever came, the good and the bad,” Capt. Johnson says. “Leadership is an honor. People are critical of leadership and a leader has to take whatever comes with that, because he or she has been honored to be in that position. And so, whatever came with it, it was a part of it.”

How to watch 13 DAYS IN FERGUSON on CBS

13 DAYS IN FERGUSON is a production by See It Now Studios and Bungalow Media + Entertainment in association with A Bird and a Bear Entertainment. Executive producers are Robert Friedman and Deborah Riley Draper for Bungalow Media + Entertainment, Cedric The Entertainer and Eric C. Rhone for A Bird and a Bear Entertainment, JD DeWitt for Fear Not Productions and Susan Zirinsky and Terence Wrong for See It Now Studios. Deborah Riley Draper also serves as director.

The special airs airs Friday, Aug. 9 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*.