ST. LOUIS (AP) — Christopher Dunn has spent 33 years in prison for a murder he has claimed from the outset that he didn’t commit. A hearing this week will determine if he should go free.

St. Louis prosecutors are now convinced Dunn is telling the truth, but lawyers for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office disagree and will argue for keeping him behind bars. Dunn, 52, is serving a sentence of life without parole at the state prison in Locking, Missouri, but is expected to attend the hearing before Judge Jason Sengheiser that begins Tuesday.

The hearing follows a motion filed in February By St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. A Missouri law adopted in 2021 allows prosecutors to request hearings in cases where they believe there is evidence of a wrongful conviction.

Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers in 1990, based largely on the testimony of two boys who said they witnessed the shooting. The witnesses, ages 12 and 14 at the time, later recanted, claiming they were coerced by police and prosecutors.

In May 2023, then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed a motion to vacate Dunn’s sentence. But Gardner resigned days later, and after his appointment by Gov. Mike Parson, Gore wanted to conduct his own investigation. Gore announced in February that he would seek to overturn the conviction.

Dunn, who is Black, was 18 when Rogers was shot to death on the night of May 18, 1990. No physical evidence linked Dunn to the crime but the two boys told police at the time that they saw Dunn standing in the gangway of the house next door, just minutes before shots rang out.

Rogers and the two boys ran when they heard the shots, but Roger was fatally struck, according to court records.

A judge has heard Dunn’s innocence case before.

At an evidentiary hearing in 2020, Judge William Hickle agreed that a jury would likely find Dunn not guilty based on new evidence. But Hickle declined to exonerate Dunn, citing a 2016 Missouri Supreme Court ruling that only death row inmates — not those like Dunn sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — could make a “freestanding” claim of actual innocence.

The 2021 law has resulted in the the release of two men who both spent decades in prison.

In 2021, Kevin Strickland was freed after more than 40 years behind bars for three killings in Kansas City after a judge ruled that he had been wrongfully convicted in 1979.

Last February, a St. Louis judge overturned the conviction of Lamar Johnson, who spent nearly 28 years in prison for a killing he always said he didn’t commit. At a hearing in December 2022, another man testified that it was he — not Johnson — who joined a second man in the killing. A witness testified that police had “bullied” him into implicating Johnson. And Johnson’s girlfriend at the time had testified that they were together that night.

A hearing date is still pending in another case in which a Missouri murder conviction is being challenged for a man who was nearly executed for the crime.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January to vacate the conviction of Marcellus Williams, who narrowly escaped lethal injection seven years ago for the fatal stabbing of Lisha Gayle in 1998. Bell’s motion said three experts have determined that Williams’ DNA was not on the handle of the butcher knife used in the killing.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson sent a letter to the State’s Commission of Administration urging the State Legal Expense Fund (LEF) not to certify payments on behalf of a trio of senators being sued.

Parson sent the letter to Ken Zellers and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Monday regarding what he called “potential payments… to cover an adverse judgment against elected officials who falsely accused an American citizen of a heinous act and related it to his immigration status.”

The man who filed a defamation lawsuit is Denton Loudermill, an Olathe man who was accused of being an illegal immigrant and a shooter during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade rally shooting in February.

Loudermill applauded Gov. Parson after he defended the Olathe man’s defamation case when Bailey said he would represent the three Missouri Senators. Those three senators are Sens. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg and Nick Schoer of Defiance.

“I think that he’s doing the right thing by stepping up and letting them know that they’re not supposed to be doing this,” Loudermill, who is also suing Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, told KCTV.

READ MORE: ‘He’s doing the right thing’: Loudermill applauds defense from Gov. Mike Parson

Parson’s letter to Zellers continued: “As Commissioner of Administration, you are responsible for certifying payments from the LEF. Under my authority over the Office of Administration… I implore you not to certify any payments from the LEF for ‘payment of any amount required by any final judgment rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction against’ these senators.”

Parson said Missourians shouldn’t have to pay for the attacks senators made on a private citizen.

“Missourians should not be held liable for legal expenses on judgments due to state senators falsely attacking a private citizen on social media,” Parson wrote.

Parson also said it’s his responsibility to spend taxpayer dollars fairly.

“I cannot justify money spent in this way,” he said, noting that Brattin, Hoskins and Schoer voted against authorizing expenditures from the LEF, “highlighting the fact that they also do not financially support the fund that would be responsible for covering their conduct.

“Accordingly, you shall not certify any payments from the LEF in this instance without my approval or a court order.”

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

Missouri State will hope to recapture the magic it caught in 2022 when it made a run from the first day of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament before winning it all and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

After an 18-11 loss to Southern Illinois to wrap up the regular season on Saturday, the Bears locked up the eight-seed in the MVC Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Evansville, Indiana.

The Bears will play fifth-seeded Illinois Chicago at 2:30 p.m. for a chance to play regular-season champion and nationally-ranked Indiana State the following day. The double-elimination tournament will see the Bears play at least one game on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It will be Missouri State’s final chance at extending Keith Guttin’s career as he’s set to retire once it ends. The 42-year head coach has led the Bears to 21 regular-season or conference tournament championships since 1983.

More: Missouri State celebrates Keith Guttin and the baseball family he created

When is the 2024 MVC Baseball Tournament?

• Dates: Tuesday, May 21 through Saturday, May 25
• Location: German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana

2024 Missouri Valley Conference final regular-season standings

1. Indiana State (39-11, 22-5)
2. Murray State (37-18, 17-10)
3. Evansville (31-23, 17-10)
4. Illinois State (28-25, 16-11)
5. Illinois Chicago (33-18, 16-11)
6. Southern Illinois (31-25, 12-15)
7. Belmont (25-30, 12-15)
8. Missouri State (23-32, 11-16)
9. Valparaiso (14-38, 6-21)
10. Bradley (13-37-1, 6-21)

The top eight teams in the Missouri Valley Conference qualify for its postseason tournament.

2024 MVC Baseball Tournament schedule

All times central

First round: Tuesday, May 21

• Game 1: No. 5 UIC vs. No. 8 Missouri State, 2:30 p.m.
• Game 2: No. 6 Southern Illinois vs. No. 7 Belmont, 6 p.m.

Second round: Wednesday, May 22

• Game 3: No. 3 Evansville vs. No. 4 Illinois State, 9 AM 
• Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:30 PM 
• Game 5: No. 1 Indiana State vs. TBD, 4 p.m.
• Game 6: No. 2 Murray State vs. TBD, 7:30 p.m.

More: What Keith Guttin means to Missouri State baseball and the many lives he’s touched

Third round: Thursday, May 23

• Game 7: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 9 a.m.
• Game 8: Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, 12:30 p.m.
• Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7, 4 p.m.
• Game 10: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 6, 7:30 p.m.

Semifinals: Friday, May 24

• Game 11: TBD, 11 a.m.
• Game 12: TBD, 2:30 p.m.
• Game 13: TBD, 6 p.m.

Championship: Saturday, May 25

• Game 14: MVC Championship, 2:30 p.m.
• Game 15: MVC Championship (If Necessary), 6 p.m.

More: Keith Guttin: A timeline of the Missouri State baseball coach’s career

2024 MVC Tournament format

This year’s format gives the top four seeds based on regular-season finish a bye into Day 2 of the tournament, while seeds five through eight will play on Tuesday, May 21. The tournament is a double-elimination format.

How to watch MVC Baseball Tournament live:

2024 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament bracket