Debra Milke Granted Bail While Awaiting Retrial

September 05, 2013

An Arizona woman convicted in connection with the murder of her 4-year-old son in 1989, has been granted bail. Debra Milke is awaiting retrial on the charges. The retrial and bail are the result of a now questionable confession.

Milke was convicted after a Phoenix police detective testified she had confessed to him about her involvement in her son’s murder. There were no witnesses to the confession and the detective, Armando Saldate, did not record it.

Milke’s conviction was overturned earlier this year by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court concluded that prosecutors' failure to turn over evidence related to Saldate's credibility, which deprived Milke's attorneys of the chance to question his truthfulness before jurors.

That decision in turn led to the re-trial. On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Rosa Mroz said she found “the proof is not evident or presumption great that the defendant committed the crimes charged in the Indictment.”

She set bail at $250,000, and a hearing for Sept. 23 to consider defense attorneys’ request to prohibit Milke’s original confession.