ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri man was freed from prison Tuesday after his murder conviction was overturned after 34 years behind bars, despite the state attorney general’s efforts to keep him there.
“I never gave up because my family never gave up,” Christopher Dunn said. “It’s easy to give up in prison when you lose hope. But when the system throws you away, you have to ask yourself if you wanted to just settle for it or fight for it.”
Dunn, 52, was driven by van from the state prison in Licking, Missouri, to St. Louis, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) away as his release was imminent. He was officially released from the St. Louis city jail Tuesday night.
A St. Louis circuit judge overturned Dunn’s murder conviction on July 22 and ordered his immediate release. But Dunn remained imprisoned amid a chaotic process that began when Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey appealed to try and keep Dunn locked up.
Dunn’s release marks the second time in recent weeks that a person was freed from prison despite Bailey’s appeals to keep them in custody after a murder conviction was overturned.