Black man wrongfully imprisoned for more than 3 decades

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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.