ST. LOUIS – A retired Missouri appellate judge has been appointed to review a conviction in a decades-old St. Louis murder case.
Last month, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed to withdraw his predecessor’s motion to vacate the conviction of Christopher Dunn.
Dunn was sentenced to life plus 90 years in prison in the 1990 murder of Recco Rogers. The teen was allegedly killed over a gang affiliation. Kim Gardner, the former circuit attorney, believed there to be clear and convincing evidence pointing to a wrongful conviction, and had asked the St. Louis Circuit Court to overturn the verdict.
At the time, the trial hinged on the testimony of a 12 and 14-year-olds, who have since admitted that they were not telling the truth.
Gardner filed that paperwork in mid-May. Days later, she announced her resignation and left office on May 16.
Earlier in the year, Gardner succeeded in getting the courts to re-examine and ultimately vacate Lamar Johnson’s murder conviction. Johnson had been behind bars for 28 years for the 1994 killing of Marcus Boyd.
Shortly after assuming office, Circuit Attorney Gore promised his office would conduct a full review of Dunn’s case before moving forward on anything.
Gore said Wednesday that retired Judge Booker Shaw would review Dunn’s conviction and advise him on the possibility of withdrawing the case.
Shaw previously served as Chief Judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals’ Eastern District. From 1983 to 2002, he sat on the bench in the St. Louis Circuit Court. Shaw’s legal career began in the circuit attorney’s office.
