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Appeals court refuses to reconsider Beatrice 6 decision

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider its decision last month giving six people wrongly convicted of a 1985 murder another chance at suing officials who prosecuted them.

The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied without comment defendants' request to rehear the matter.

The appeals court's ruling in December revived the lawsuit of those wrongly convicted — known as the Beatrice Six — against Gage County and officials who built the murder cases against them.

The six were wrongly convicted in the 1985 killing of Helen Wilson in Beatrice and served a combined 77 years in prison before DNA testing cleared them in 2008.

The individuals have argued that Gage County investigators recklessly strove to close the case despite contradictory evidence, rather than seek justice.

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