LINCOLN, Neb.—Gage County is hiring an outside attorney to defend current county officials being sued by five of the six people wrongly convicted for the 1985 rape and murder of a Beatrice woman.
The five allege their civil rights were violated when they were prosecuted. Former county officials who had a role in the convictions are targeted in the lawsuits, but current officials also are named.
Because County Attorney Randy Ritnour was named, the county must get outside counsel. He was not county attorney when the six were convicted.
The Board of Supervisors hired outside counsel on Wednesday.
The six were exonerated after DNA testing done last year showed that one man who wasn’t convicted had committed the crimes.
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Information from: KWBE-AM
