Tea Attorney: Case Sheds Light On Wrongly Convicted

An investigation into any possible wrongdoing by former Tea Police Chief Brian Ketterhagen and Officer James Klimple is underway after the two resigned from their positions last week.

Ketterhagen is currently being sued in Wyoming for withholding evidence by a man who was wrongly convicted of murder in a 1980s cold case.

Tea attorney Cheri Scharffenberg is on the board for the Innocence Project of South Dakota, and says cases like this raise awareness that there are inmates sitting in prison across the country who are innocent.
    
"It happens and it happens for many different reasons and unfortunately in this particular case, at least the allegations are somebody withheld important evidence, and our system can't work properly if both sides aren't forthcoming,” Scharffenberg said.

Scharffenberg says more than 300 people across the country have been exonerated because of a National Innocence Project.