Arizona denied reversal in Milke death-row case
~~By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez The Republic
~~By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez The Republic
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| Debra Jean Milke |
Mon May 6, 2013: Debra Milke, one of three women on Arizona’s death row, moved a step closer to escaping execution after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday denied a petition by the state attorney general to reconsider an earlier decision to throw out her murder conviction.
Milke was accused in 1989 and later convicted of dressing up her 4-year-old son in his favorite clothes and cowboy boots to see Santa Claus and, instead, sending him off to be shot execution-style in a desert wash.
On Monday, the 9th Circuit denied a petition by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne to either reconsider its earlier decision to dismiss Milke’s conviction and death sentence, or to allow the appeal to be heard by the full bench of the court.
In March, a three-judge panel of the appellate court threw out her death sentence and murder conviction, saying the trial court refused to let her introduce evidence that might have discredited her supposed confession.
The Phoenix police detective who claimed Milke confessed to him had a history of lying to grand juries, according to the March court opinion, and extracting confessions even from unconscious suspects on hospital gurneys. There were no witnesses to the confession, it was not recorded, and Milke denied she ever confessed.
Horne is considering whether to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Stephanie Grisham, a Horne spokeswoman, wrote in a statement to The Arizona Republic that the agency “will promptly decide” whether to petition the Supreme Court to review the case. If Horne does not petition the high court, she wrote, the case will go back to the District Court to determine whether there are other personnel records related to the detective — “meaning to determine if there is anything new we can offer the court to show why she should remain on death row,” Grisham wrote.
If there isn’t, she wrote, Milke will be released unless the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office notifies the court of its intent to retry her. A spokesman for the County Attorney’s Office said no determination has been made because the case has not been returned to it.
Milke’s attorney, Lori Voepel, said, “We are very pleased that the 9th Circuit denied the petition for rehearing and do not believe there is a constitutional basis to support a petition for (an appeal) to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We look forward to what we hope will be an expedited process with the state and Police Department in obtaining Detective (Armando) Saldate’s personnel files.”
Milke was accused in 1989 and later convicted of dressing up her 4-year-old son in his favorite clothes and cowboy boots to see Santa Claus and, instead, sending him off to be shot execution-style in a desert wash.
On Monday, the 9th Circuit denied a petition by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne to either reconsider its earlier decision to dismiss Milke’s conviction and death sentence, or to allow the appeal to be heard by the full bench of the court.
In March, a three-judge panel of the appellate court threw out her death sentence and murder conviction, saying the trial court refused to let her introduce evidence that might have discredited her supposed confession.
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| Milke's son Christopher |
Horne is considering whether to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Stephanie Grisham, a Horne spokeswoman, wrote in a statement to The Arizona Republic that the agency “will promptly decide” whether to petition the Supreme Court to review the case. If Horne does not petition the high court, she wrote, the case will go back to the District Court to determine whether there are other personnel records related to the detective — “meaning to determine if there is anything new we can offer the court to show why she should remain on death row,” Grisham wrote.
If there isn’t, she wrote, Milke will be released unless the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office notifies the court of its intent to retry her. A spokesman for the County Attorney’s Office said no determination has been made because the case has not been returned to it.
Milke’s attorney, Lori Voepel, said, “We are very pleased that the 9th Circuit denied the petition for rehearing and do not believe there is a constitutional basis to support a petition for (an appeal) to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We look forward to what we hope will be an expedited process with the state and Police Department in obtaining Detective (Armando) Saldate’s personnel files.”
Courtesy: AZ Central.com
