[Johnny Wadd]

A US woman who spent more than two decades on death row after being convicted of murdering her son has been released because of a lack of evidence.

Debra Milke was found guilty in Arizona state of the 1989 shooting of her four-year-old boy, who was allegedly killed for a $5,000 (£3,200) insurance payout.

Milke, 49, allegedly confessed to detective Saldate whose credibility has since been questioned.

She will remain on bail as prosecutors mount a new trial.

Milke, then a 25-year-old insurance company clerk, was accused of dressing her son in his favourite outfit and telling him he was going to see Santa Claus at the mall.

She then allegedly handed him over to two men who took the boy to the desert and shot him.

Roger Scott and James Styers were both convicted in the case, but neither testified at Milke's trial.

A court of appeals overturned her conviction in March this year after questions were raised about a now-retired detective Saldate who testified that Milke had confessed the crime to him.

He was found to have lied under oath in four later cases and was suspended for accepting sexual favours on the job.

Milke's $250,000 bail bond was paid out of money raised by her European supporters. Her German mother has maintained her daughter's innocence.

Donors in Switzerland, where Milke's mother now lives, were reportedly spurred to contribute by doubts over her guilt and opposition to the death penalty.

Mark Milke, ex-husband of the accused, told he believes his former wife is guilty of the crime.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty again at Milke's retrial, currently set for 30 September.

[Azimuth]

Her case was detailed in a book called Women on Death Row that I read some years ago. If she did do that, she is one horrible bitch and should die.

[swheaton]

Do you remember the author of the book?

[Pyramid_Head]

If she is innocent, she has my sympathy. But if she is guilty, I hope they execute her this year.

[Azimuth]

Originally Posted by swheaton ↗

Do you remember the author of the book?

No I'm sorry I didn't remember so I looked and Amazon has it, it's by Tom Kuncl, and I had the title wrong, it's called Death Row Women: Shocking Stories of America's most Vicious Females. . It has shitty reviews but I thought it interesting. Its not a textbook, mind you.

[kellyhound]

A bizar case

[Johnny Wadd]

I think she DIDN'T do it

[Sharon]

See what the retrial comes up with

[ices]

She got away with it because she is a woman and two men took the fall.

[Azimuth]

Originally Posted by ices ↗

She got away with it because she is a woman and two men took the fall.

But it is a fact that the two men took him into the desert and killed him. That was proven.