ST. LOUIS—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. “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, was driven by van from the state prison in Licking, Missouri, to St. Louis, about 140 miles away as his release was imminent. He was released by St. Louis authorities and reunited with his family at the Carnahan courthouse downtown Tuesday night around 7 p.m.

In a unanimous ruling, the state’s high court said earlier in the day that a circuit court judge did not have the authority to mandate Dunn’s immediate release as was ordered last week. 

“The circuit court clearly lacked the authority…. to unconditionally release Dunn from custody. Section 547.031 provides only that the circuit court may sustain a motion to vacate and thereby vacate or set aside a criminal conviction; it does not provide that the court may order a defendant’s release from custody. Instead, as with any vacated conviction, the criminal case and the charges as to which the conviction has been vacated are reinstated, and the defendant is remanded to his detention status prior to conviction.”

In a footnote, the court wrote, “Presumably, the state will elect not to retry Dunn and will dismiss the charges given the motion to vacate and set aside Dunn’s conviction based on actual innocence, but the circuit court should not so presume without some supported finding to the contrary.”

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, which argued in favor of the motion to vacate Dunn’s conviction after witnesses recanted their testimony, said Tuesday afternoon it filed a motion saying "the State elects not to proceed" with a retrial of the Dunn case.

While the circuit court lacks the authority to order Dunn’s release, the supreme court ruling also said the department of corrections didn't have the authority to detain him now that his conviction was vacated and his status was back to what it was prior to the conviction.

"Chris’ nightmare comes to an end. He is coming home," his legal team with the Midwest Innocence Project said prior to his release.

"We are thrilled that Chris will finally be reunited with his family after 34 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. We look forward to supporting Chris as he rebuilds his life. But our joy in welcoming Chris home is tempered by the additional days and moments stolen from him by this week’s proceedings."

A spokesperson for the Missouri attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.