ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Columbia is battling a lawsuit from a man whose conviction in a sports editor's death was overturned after he served nearly a decade in prison.
The city argued Wednesday before the federal appeals court in St. Louis that six Columbia police officers should be protected against the claims in Ryan Ferguson's $100 million civil lawsuit. The Columbia Daily Tribune (http://bit.ly/2croNwa ) reports that judges will consider the city's immunity appeal before ruling.
Ferguson was sentenced to 40 years for the 2001 killing of Kent Heitholt, a Columbia sports editor. Ferguson denied any involvement and was released in 2013 after an appeals court panel ruled he didn't receive a fair trial because the prosecutor withheld evidence.
The lawsuit alleges that detectives fabricated evidence, coerced witnesses and failed to investigate other possible suspects.