Man's murder conviction is overturned after 30 years in prison as he reveals the first thing he will do when he is freed from jail

An inmate's murder conviction was overturned after more than 30 years in a Missouri prison on Monday, after years of insisting he was innocent.

Christopher Dunn, now 52, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1990 shooting of 15 year old Ricco Rogers and has spent the last 33 years serving a life sentence without parole.

But St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser ruled on Monday that Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore 'has made a clear and convincing showing of "actual innocence" that undermines the basis for Dunn's convictions because in light of new evidence, no juror, acting reasonably would have voted to find Dunn guilty of these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.'

He then ordered the Missouri Department of Corrections to release Dunn from custody, according to First Alert Four, with his attorney saying she was 'overjoyed' by the decision. 

'Now Chris looks forward to spending time with his wife and family as a free man,' Midwest Innocence Project Executive Direct Tricia Rojo Bushnell said. 

But a prison spokesperson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's office has filed an appeal, and it is unlikely that he will be released.

Lawyers for the state have argued against Dunn's conviction being overturned at a hearing in May.

They claimed that initial testimony from two boys at the scene of the May 18, 1990 shooting,  who identified Dunn as the shooter was correct - even though they later recanted their statements as adults.

'The verdict was accurate and that verdict should stand,' Assistant Attorney General Tristin Estep argued.

She also claimed that Dunn's alibi could not be trusted, saying he changed his story multiple times over the years. 

He had said he was at his mother's house at the time of the shooting, and his childhood friend testified that she spoke with him by phone that night - asserting he was using a phone at his mother's house. 

Rogers was shot on May 18, 1990 when a gunman opened fire while he was with a group of other teenage boys outside of a home.

DeMorris Stepp, 14, and Michael Davis Jr. 12, both initially identified Dunn as the shooter.

But in a recorded interview played at the May hearing, Davis admitted he lied because he thought Dunn was affiliated with a rival gang.

Stepp's story has also changed multiple times over the years, Gore argued, noting that another judge recently found him to be a 'completely unreliable witness.'

Most recently, though, Stepp has said he did not see Dunn as the shooter.

During the hearing in May, eyewitness identification expert Nancy Franklin argued that it was also unlikely for the boys to recognize the shooter's face that night.

She noted that the shooter was standing a dozen feet away from them on a dark street - and because Dunn wasn't a friend or a family member, it is unlikely Stepp and Davis would have been able to recognize him in a split second.

Sengehiser ultimately determined on Monday that 'the only evidence inculpating Dunn has been recanted.'

He went on to acknowledge that Dunn's alibi for the night of the murder was not strong - but he argued it was not essential in determining Dunn's guilt given the lack  of evidence against him.

Dunn's potential freedom was made possible under a Missouri law adopted in 2021 that lets prosecutors request hearings when they see evidence of a wrongful conviction. 

The law has resulted in the the release of two men who have each spent decades in prison.

Lamar Johnson was freed last year after serving 28 years for a murder case in which a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted.

Additionally, Kevin Strickland was freed in 2021 after more than 40 years for three killings in Kansas City after a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted in 1979.

Another hearing is next month for Marcellus Williams, who narrowly escaped lethal injection and is now facing another execution date.