LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Closing arguments are expected to be given Thursday in the second trial of a lawsuit filed against Gage County by people wrongfully convicted in a 1985 rape and slaying.

Both sides wrapped up their cases Wednesday. The six people — James Dean, Kathleen Gonzalez, Debra Shelden, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Joseph White and Thomas Winslow — were wrongly convicted in the killing of Helen Wilson in Beatrice and served a combined 77 years in prison before DNA testing cleared them in 2008. They’ve become known as the Beatrice Six.

Lawyers for them have argued that Gage County investigators labored to close the case despite contradictory evidence. The first trial last year ended in a mistrial.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The second of two men convicted in the drug-related slaying of a man found bound and burned near Gretna in 2012 has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

35-year-old Joseph Fleming will serve 10 years before he is eligible for parole. His sentence will begin later this year after he finishes a sentence on a gun charge.

Fleming entered a plea agreement for a charge of manslaughter in May in the death of 31-year-old Jose L. Quintero. He was originally charged with first-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Quintero died from neck and head trauma after being beaten with a pipe. He was also stabbed.

The other person charged in the crime, John Meyers, pleaded guilty to the same charge and received the same sentence last week.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa woman has died after being hit by a pickup in Council Bluffs.

42-year-old Sharon Richards, of Council Bluffs, was hit around 10 p.m. Tuesday as she crossed the intersection of 35th Street and West Broadway on the west end of Council Bluffs.

Police say Richards was crossing against the pedestrian crosswalk sign when she was hit. Police say the Omaha, Nebraska, driver of the truck will not face criminal charges.

Richards was taken to an Omaha hospital, where she died Wednesday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man accused of causing a crash last week that killed a 16-year-old girl has been charged with motor vehicle homicide and driving under the influence.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Wednesday that bond has been set at $750,000 for 28-year-old Tyvinn Smith. Smith’s preliminary hearing will be July 18. He faces more than 50 years in prison if he’s convicted.

Tyvinn remained jailed Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

Kleine says Smith was speeding when he slammed into the back of a car on Sorensen Parkway around 10:45 p.m. Friday, killing Janis Brown and injuring two others.

Kleine says that at the time of the crash, Smith had a blood-alcohol level of .102 and had cocaine and PCP in his system.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Beatrice man serving decades in state prison for beating and raping a woman in 2011 has been sentenced to another three years in federal prison in a child pornography case.

34-year-old Joseph Buttercase was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in March to production and transportation of child porn. In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors dropped three other child pornography charges.

Buttercase is currently serving 26 to 41 years for the July 2011 beating, choking and raping a 29-year-old woman after they argued at his home.

ROCA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 53-year-old Roca man has lost some fingers on his right hand after a fireworks explosion.

The Nebraska State Patrol bomb squad and State Fire Marshals office are investigating the incident that happened Sunday in southeastern Nebraska.

Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says Troy Block was setting off artillery shells at 9:45 p.m. when one of fireworks exploded in the man’s right hand. He was taken to a Lincoln hospital for treatment.

The State Fire Marshals Office is investigating.

BENNETT, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in southeastern Nebraska are investigating a fiery crash into a bridge pillar that killed a Lincoln man.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened just before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on state Highway 2 near Bennett.

Investigators say a car driven by 26-year-old Thomas Neeley veered off the highway into the grass median and struck a Highway 43 bridge pillar. The car caught fire, and bystanders were able to pull Neeley from the wreckage, but he died at the scene.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) — A 75-year-old man has been charged with sexually assaulting two residents at a Nebraska City nursing home.

Online records say Terry McClane, of Union, remained in Otoe County custody Wednesday. He’s charged with two felony and two misdemeanor counts of sexual assault and two felony counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult. The records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.

Prosecutors say McClane began visiting the Golden Living Centers facility while his wife lived there and continued after she died May 15. Staffers became suspicious after a June 17 incident and called police. Two residents say McClane sexually assaulted them between Jan. 1 and June 17.

Golden Living Centers Executive Director Jade Harrah says the facility is cooperating with authorities and the residents’ relatives.