Jefferson City, Missouri - Christopher Dunn was less than an hour away from freedom after more than 30 years behind bars when the Missouri Supreme Court stepped in to block his release.

St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser had ordered Dunn's discharge by Wednesday at 6 PM, but the state Supreme Court stepped in at the last moment to deliver a win to Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who has been fighting the release.

Dunn was signing paperwork in preparation for his release when he heard the terrible news. His wife was on the way to the prison to pick him up at the time, CNN reported.

Sengheiser's order came after Dunn's murder conviction was overturned Monday following evidence of "actual innocence" in the 1990 shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers.

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Bailey appealed the decision, and Missouri's Department of Corrections – at the AG's behest – has declined to follow through with the release.

Dunn has spent the last three decades behind bars on now-vacated first-degree murder charges. Two boys at the scene who identified him as the shooter have since recanted as adults, citing coercion by prosecutors and police. There was no DNA evidence to tie Dunn to the murder.

Dunn remains incarcerated at the South Central Correctional Facility in Licking. The Midwest Innocence Project has organized a GoFundMe campaign to support the family in their continued fight for justice.