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 from the steps of the downtown St. Louis courthouse. “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, reunited with his wife, Kira Dunn, as he was officially released from the St. Louis city jail Tuesday night. As his release drew imminent, he was driven by van from the state prison in Licking, Missouri, to St. Louis, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) away, the Associated Press reports. 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. When asked about the delay since the judge’s ruling, Dunn said, “It was testing. To hear the decision by the judge and then be prepared to leave on Wednesday, only to be brought back to prison. It was torture.” 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. Sandra Hemme was freed July 19 from a western Missouri prison after serving 43 years for a murder that a judge deemed there was evidence of her “actual innocence.” Bailey’s office also opposed Hemme’s release while an appellate court reviewed the case. She walked out of the prison only after a judge threatened Bailey with contempt if she wasn’t freed. Political scientists and some attorneys have said Bailey was taking the tough stance to shore up votes in advance of a contested Republican primary. He faces a challenge from Will Scharf, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, in the Aug. 6 primary.
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