PHOENIX – An Arizona appeals court has ordered that murder charges be dismissed against a woman who spent 22 years on death row in her son's death.
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the charges against Debra Jean Milke in the 1989 death of her son Christopher can't be refiled. A three-judge panel said it agrees with Milke's argument that a retrial would amount to double jeopardy.
A federal appeals court threw out Milke's first-degree murder conviction more than a year ago, saying prosecutors knew about a history of misconduct by a detective on the case but failed to disclose it. Milke has since been released on bond.
Authorities say Milke had two men shoot her 4-year-old son in the desert outside Phoenix. She was found guilty in 1990.
The original case against Milke rested largely on her purported confession, which Phoenix police Detective Armando Saldate did not record. He has since retired.
That left jurors with Saldate's word alone that she told him about her involvement. Milke has maintained her innocence and denied she ever confessed.
In its ruling overturning Milke's conviction, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited numerous instances in which Saldate committed misconduct in previous cases, including lying under oath and violating suspects' rights. The federal appeals court also asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Saldate had committed civil rights violations.
Saldate has not returned repeated telephone calls from The Associated Press.
Prosecutors insist Debra Milke is guilty and have been planning a 2015 retrial, but Saldate has claimed he fears potential federal charges if he testifies again, based on the appeals court accusations of misconduct.
In December, Superior Court Judge Rosa Mroz granted Saldate's request to assert his Fifth Amendment right, allowing him to refuse to take the stand at Milke's retrial.
The state Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in April and said Saldate would be forced to testify at the retrial. Both county and federal authorities said they don't intend to seek charges against the detective based on any of the accusations leveled by the federal appeals court.
Saldate's attorney countered that authorities had offered no guarantees that he wouldn't face charges in the future based on his testimony, and an appeal to the state Supreme Court was expected.
Judge Mroz had previously said that if Saldate didn't testify again, the purported confession likely couldn't be used at her retrial.
Milke's defense sought dismissal of the entire case against her, noting in a previous motion that "the only direct evidence linking defendant to the crimes is the defendant's alleged confession to Saldate."
The two men convicted in the child's death did not testify against Milke and remain on death row.
Milke, whose mother was a German who married a U.S. Air Force military policeman in Berlin in the 1960s, has drawn strong support from citizens of that nation and Switzerland, neither of which has the death penalty.
Milke's mother died in Germany in August after a battle with cancer. A week earlier, a judge had denied Milke's request for permission to travel to Germany to visit her sick mother.
