DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of two black men wrongly convicted in the 1977 murder of a retired white police officer who sought millions of dollars from the city of Council Bluffs and two officers they claim framed them for the crime.  On Friday, Judge Robert Pratt declared a mistrial after determining a jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision.

Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee, both of Omaha, Neb., filed the lawsuit, saying they deserved payment for spending 25 years in prison.  Harrington sought more than $60 million and McGhee more than $50 million, alleging retired officers Dan Larsen and Lyle Brown coerced witnesses into lying and hid evidence.

Both men were sentenced in 1978 to life in prison, but were freed in 2003.