Death row mum free after 22 years

An Arizona woman who spent more than two decades on death row in her four-year-old son’s killing saw her murder charge dismissed, bringing an end to a controversial case that relied almost entirely on the work of a detective with a long history of misconduct.

Debra Milke hugged her supporters and sobbed as she left the courtroom where a judge formally dismissed the case, saying it cannot be tried again, less than a week after prosecutors lost their final appeal.

In a brief hearing, Judge Rosa Mroz also allowed Milke, who has been free on bail since 2013, to have her electronic-monitoring ankle bracelet removed.

Milke, 51, emerged from a conference room a short time later without the device.

“It feels good,” Milke said, pulling up one pant leg to show her ankle.

Milke was convicted of murder in 1990 in the death of her son, Christopher. Authorities say Milke dressed him in his favourite outfit and told him he was going to see Santa Claus at a mall in December 1989. He was then taken to the desert near Phoenix by two men, one of whom was Milke’s roommate, and shot in the back of the head.

Authorities say Milke’s motive was that she didn’t want the child anymore and didn’t want him to live with his father. Milke has maintained her innocence and denied that she confessed to the killing. James Styers and Roger Scott, the two men who led Christopher to his death, have been on death row and have refused to testify against Milke.

While Milke sat on death row, the Arizona Supreme Court had gone so far as to issue a death warrant for her in 1997. The execution was delayed because she had yet to exhaust federal appeals.

An appeals court overturned Milke’s conviction in 2013, ruling that prosecutors failed to disclose a detective’s history of misconduct. Her conviction was based entirely on a confession Milke gave to the now-discredited detective, Armando Saldate.

Multiple rulings in other cases said the now-retired officer either lied under oath or violated suspects’ rights during interrogations, according to the federal appeals court.

Saldate’s history of conduct included a five-day suspension after he stopped a female motorist in 1973 and “took liberties” with her before agreeing to meet her later for sex. According to court documents, he questioned a suspect in 1982 who was strapped to a hospital bed and was so incoherent he didn’t even know his own name.

In a scathing 2013 opinion, the appeals court levelled harsh criticism over the case.

“No civilised system of justice should have to depend on such flimsy evidence,” the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said.