Christopher Dunn’s legal team filed a habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court of the United States on December 16, 2022. Copies were distributed for conference on January 13, 2023, and the Missouri Attorney General’s office was asked to respond by February 6, 2023.
The petition asks three questions:
1. Is it cruel and unusual punishment and a substantive due process violation for an innocent man to remain in prison?
2. Is the claim of freestanding actual innocence a cognizable claim for petitioners sentenced to either incarceration or death under the United States Constitution when a state court has concluded, after taking testimony and hearing evidence at a post-conviction hearing, that no jury would convict the petitioner?
3. Is “clear and convincing evidence” the standard to meet a freestanding actual innocence claim?
The Missouri Supreme Court has declined to address these questions, forcing Christopher Dunn to ask for answers from the nation’s highest court.
Where else in the United States is finding guilt enough to take away your freedom, but finding innocence isn’t enough to restore it? Nowhere else – only in Missouri.