Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs For more than 30 years, Christopher Dunn was jailed in Missouri, accused of a murder he insisted he did not commit. Freedom seemed within his grasp when a circuit judge overturned his conviction and ordered for his release Wednesday — only to be overruled when the state Supreme Court granted the attorney general’s request for a stay.The legal showdown over Dunn’s release marks the second time in a matter of weeks that Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey has fought a court order to release a wrongly convicted inmate. Last month, Sandra Hemme, 64, the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman, had her conviction overturned, only to have Bailey appeal her release, keeping her behind bars. Ultimately, she was released July 19 after a judge threatened to hold the attorney general’s office in contempt of court. Christopher Dunn.Kira Dunn via APDunn, now 52, was 18 when he was accused of fatally shooting Ricco Rogers, 15, on the night of May 18, 1990. Though there was no physical evidence in the case linking Dunn to the shooting, he was convicted of first-degree murder in a case that heavily weighed on two young witnesses who claimed to see the shooting. Those witnesses, who were 12 and 14, later recanted their testimony as adults and said they were coerced by prosecutors and police.St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser overturned Dunn’s conviction on Monday following a motion filed by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore in February seeking to vacate the guilty verdict. “The State of Missouri shall immediately discharge Christopher Dunn from its custody,” Sengheiser’s ruling said, according to The Associated Press.Sengheiser ordered that Dunn be freed by 6 p.m. Wednesday — a move blocked by Bailey’s motion for an emergency stay and sustained by the state’s highest court.Under the state Supreme Court order, Sengheiser has until 5 p.m. Friday to file suggestions in opposition to Bailey’s motion for the stay and Bailey has until 5 p.m Monday to file suggestions in reply. The Midwest Innocence Project, which worked to free Dunn and Hemme, said in a statement on X: “Chris’ legal team hoped and expected him to be released this evening. But at the Attorney General’s request, and less than an hour before Chris’ scheduled release, the Missouri Supreme Court stayed the order to release Chris, and requested additional briefing.” “Tragically, Chris will remain in custody at the South Central Correctional Facility as his legal team continues to work to secure his release.” NBC News has reached out to the Attorney General’s Office and Dunn’s legal team for comment.For Dunn’s family, the decision was frustrating.Minyvonne Burke contributed.
