St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore says the evidence shows Christopher Dunn, a 54-year-old St. Louis native serving a life sentence without parole, is innocent of the murder for which he has served more than 30 years.

And in a statement released to the media Wednesday, Gore announced he’d filed a motion with the 22^nd Judicial Circuit Court seeking to vacate Dunn’s murder conviction in 1991 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers.

“The eyewitness recantations alone are enough to show clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence in this case,” Gore said. “Justice requires that Christopher Dunn’s murder conviction be vacated.”

Dunn was convicted in 1991 of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and armed criminal action and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The case against Dunn rested on the testimony of two eyewitnesses – a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy – both of whom later recanted.

Last year, Gore appointed Booker Shaw as a special assistant circuit attorney working on a pro-bono basis to assist him in the review of court transcripts, case exhibits and rulings,and advise him whether the filing of a motion to vacate the conviction was appropriate.

Shaw, a partner in the St. Louis law firm of Thompson Coburn, is the former chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals and served as a judge in the 22^nd Judicial Circuit Court from 1983 to 2002,

Circuit Judge William Hickle said in 2020 that while he believed a current jury would not find Dunn guilty, he could not set him free because of Missouri law that restricts innocence claims to death penalty inmates. In 2021, a new Missouri law took effect that allows prosecutors to file petitions when they believe an innocent person is imprisoned.

The next step, Gore’s office said Wednesday, is “for the court to order a hearing before a judge to “consider the evidence presented at Dunn’s original trial, additional evidence presented in Dunn’s direct appeals and post-conviction proceedings, and additional information.”

Gore was appointed St. Louis circuit attorney in May 2023 by Gov. Mike Parson, following the resignation of Kim Gardner.

Not long after being appointed, Gore withdrew a motion Gardner had filed calling on Dunn’s conviction to be vacated. He said, in part, of that decision, “I, on the day I was sworn in, had never undertaken such a review. I could not make those representations to the court. It was necessary and required that we withdraw the motion to vacate and that I conduct my own review.”