Missouri Supreme Court halts release of man with overturned conviction as he was about to go free

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press

U.S. NEWS
Missouri Supreme Court halts release of man with overturned conviction as he was about to go free

{picture is in format DU does not recognize}

FILE - Christopher Dunn, right, listens to his attorney Justin Bonus from New York City during the first day of his hearing to decide whether to vacate his murder conviction, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at the Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis. A Missouri judge on Monday, July 24, 2024, overturned the conviction of Dunn, who has spent more than 30 years in prison for a killing he has long contended he didn’t commit. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, Pool, File)

BY JIM SALTER AND HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Updated 10:17 PM EDT, July 24, 2024

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court halted the immediate release Wednesday of a man whose murder conviction was overturned — just as the man was about to walk free.

A St. Louis Circuit Court judge had ordered Christopher Dunn, now 52, to be released by 6 p.m. CDT Wednesday and threatened the prison warden with contempt if Dunn remained imprisoned. But Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been fighting Dunn’s release.

The situation was chaotic as the deadline set by the judge approached. Corrections Department spokesperson Karen Pojmann told The Associated Press that Dunn was out of the prison facility and waiting for a ride. His wife told the AP she was on his way to pick him up. Minutes later, Pojmann corrected herself and said that while Dunn was signing paperwork to be released, the Missouri Supreme Court issued a ruling that put his freedom on hold.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser overturned Dunn’s murder conviction Monday, citing evidence of “actual innocence” in the 1990 killing. He ordered Dunn’s immediate release then, but Bailey appealed, and the state Department of Corrections declined to release Dunn.

{snip}

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/christopher-dunn-conviction-overturned-missouri-e59ec2dc43b36b2c2ac2e9acf05ff2d4

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Earlier accounts of this story have been covered by Eugene in GD. This is the most recent development.

Missouri prison ignores court order to free wrongfully convicted inmate for second time in weeks

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219226122

[Think. Again.]

1. When did we switch from...

"Innocent until proven guilty"

To

"Evidence of actual innocence"?

[bullimiami]

2. Once he was convicted. Wrongly or not.

[Cheezoholic]

11. Because slavery is legal in the US for those imprisoned for felonies

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/15/us-prison-workers-low-wages-exploited

[Miguelito Loveless]

12. Once you are convicted

that assumption goes away.

In other interesting facts, according to the Supreme Court, evidence of actual innocence is not sufficient reason to halt an execution.

See, Herrera v. Collins, 1993

[JT45242]

3. The same Missouri AG trying to keep 34 felony conviction in another state out of jail

Maybe their might be something obvious in the appearance of these two people.

Ah yes, a black man wrongfully imprisoned should stay in jail.
A white man rightfully convicted, should stay out of jail.

[Omaha Steve]

4. Here is the photo

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Thanks. I usually go to Google News after the fact and find the photo at some newspaper that picked up the story.

And good morning.

[Kid Berwyn]

6. 30 years of an innocent man's life stolen by Missouri.

Would Missouri treat him that way were he European ancestry?

[Karma13612]

7. If even one tiny hair on this

EXONERATED man’s head is harmed while he awaits the appeals process, I hope they come down hard on the AG and anyone else who is responsible.

Set him free!

I am so fed up with the “injustice system” in this country.

[Clouds Passing]

8. WTF is wrong with these Miseryans. Brain dead?!

[wolfie001]

9. The majority are racist good-for-nothings

I'm sure these court rulings are considering the vote this November because they're petty as hell too.

[Clouds Passing]

10. Leftover confederates

[PatrickforB]

13. Bushwhackers. My people fought on the Union side in the guerilla war in Missouri during the Civil War. It was

very ugly.

But the Kluxers are still alive and well there, for sure.

[Clouds Passing]

14. My people were in the Union army also

[PatrickforB]

15. Cool. My great, great uncle was in the Missouri 5th Militia Cavalry, which saw heavy action throughout the

war, and my great-great grandfather was in the 2nd Missouri Militia after they got all the Confederate sympathizers out of there.

My guys were in Warrensburg in Johnson County, so they were in the border war that began in 1858 and fought right through the end. But lawlessness continued in MO through the 1870s.

[Clouds Passing]

16. I wish I knew more about mine.

[PatrickforB]

17. There's ways to do it. My grandparents and parents passed long ago, but I had some documents, and a second

cousin who already knew some.

So I went on Ancestry dot com as well as to a couple of big libraries and was able to flesh out the story. You'd be surprised how much is out there.

[Clouds Passing]

18. Thanks. No documents. Might do some investigating.

[wolfie001]

20. Anonymous revealved many KKK'ers posing on FB and they all had regular jobs statewide

Right after those riots when the cop killed Michael Brown in Ferguson in the middle of the street.

[Rebl2]

19. The republicans

in Missery are.