Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee, both of Omaha, sued Council Bluffs and the retired officers in 2005, claiming the officers coerced witnesses and hid evidence during their 1978 murder trials.
(AP) _
A federal judge has refused to reinstate a verdict favoring the city of Council Bluffs and two former police detectives sued in a wrongful conviction lawsuit that ended in a mistrial.
Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee, both of Omaha, sued Council Bluffs and the retired officers in 2005, claiming the officers coerced witnesses and hid evidence during their 1978 murder trials. Harrington and McGhee went to prison but were released in 2003 after courts found their constitutional rights were violated.
A jury returned Dec. 14 with a verdict favoring the city and officers but three jurors indicated they didn't agree with it.
Judge Robert Pratt declared mistrial because the verdict wasn't unanimous.
Attorneys for the city and officers asked Pratt to reinstate the verdict. In a ruling Wednesday, he declined.
