Debbie Milke - unschuldig im Todestrakt?

Die in Berlin geborene Debbie und ihre Anwälte sind sich bewusst, dass das Urteil des Berufungsgerichts nur ein kleiner erster Erfolg war: „Wir sind unglaublich aufgeregt. Debbie ist erleichtert, dass das Gericht so entschieden hat, steht gleichzeitig aber auch unter Schock und weiß, dass es noch ein langer Weg ist“, sagte Debbies Anwältin Lori Voepel zu BILD.

„Das Urteil ist zwar aufgehoben, aber Debra sitzt noch immer in der Todeszelle. Das zuständige Bezirksgericht muss jetzt die gesamte Polizeiakte des leitenden Ermittlers Armando Saldate anfragen, die Polizei die Übergabe der vollständigen Akte bestätigen“, sagte Voepel.

http://www.bild.de/news/ausland/todesstrafe/deutsche-in-todeszelle-staatsanwalt-will-debra-milkes-freilassung-verhindern-29539002.bild.html

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Milke's murder conviction would not stand after the panel determined it was based on the testimony of a detective who had an undisclosed history of misconduct.

"Milke's conviction was based largely on the testimony of police Det. [Armando] Saldate [Jr.], who allegedly obtained her confession," the court wrote in its decision. "The panel held that the state remained unconstitutionally silent instead of disclosing information about Det. Saldate's history of misconduct and accompanying court orders and disciplinary action."

According to the court ruling, Saldate Jr.'s previous transgressions included lying to internal affairs investigators, lying under oath and violating suspects' rights.

The court of appeals' ruling mandated that Arizona authorities must provide Milke's attorneys with the detective's personnel files, which previously were not disclosed. Once they do, the prosecution then has 30 days to decide whether or not they'll retry Milke.

If they do not retry Milke, "she would walk free," Milke's attorney Michael Kimerer told ABCNews.com.

Meanwhile, there may be sanctions for Saldate, as well as his superiors, Kimerer said.

Saldate did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.

Despite the ruling, Milke, 48, has not been removed from death row, as a result of Department of Corrections' policy, Kimerer said.

Milke is in a state of shock, he said.

"She's been sitting there every day for almost 20 months anticipating this opinion," he said of his client, who he has represented since 2000.

"You sit there almost 23 years on death row with the specter of death hanging over your head and suddenly it's gone, and she needs to adjust how to react to it all."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/arizona-appeal-overturned-murder-conviction-death-row-inmate/story?id=18740358

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said he intends to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court and will argue it himself if they accept the case, saying the decision was the first to raise the issue after decades of court hearings.

"This is an outrageous crime," Horne said. "Ms. Milke was convicted of arranging for the death of her own child to improve her social life, and I hope to be able to convince the U.S. Supreme court to reverse this 9th Circuit decision."

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, who will be charged with deciding whether to retry Milke if the ruling stands, said Friday that he will have to review the available evidence and Saldate's credibility himself before deciding how to proceed.

He said there may be more evidence that wasn't used at the 1990 trial. "I want to know what the hell happened, after reading the opinion," Montgomery said. "I want to be able to review the available information and understand for myself."

But Montgomery said changes in the way rogue officers are monitored had changed greatly since 1990. Now, officers with credibility problems are tracked in a database so that those issues are caught early and disclosed to defense lawyers when necessary.

"The basic concerns that are raised in the 9th Circuit opinion, I do not believe that is anywhere near a systemic issue today," Montgomery said. "This is an instance where I need to make sure what we do is what's right rather than what's expedient."

Milke's appellate lawyers, Mike Kimerer and Lori Voepel, said the appeals court's decision sends a clear message to police and prosecutors who don't reveal evidence that could help people accused of crimes defend themselves.

"It's one of the most scathing opinions I've ever seen the 9th Circuit write, in terms of talking about the credibility of a police officer or a law enforcement official," Kimerer said. "It almost sets the standard in terms of what we need to expect from law enforcement."

For Milke, who has always maintained her innocence, the ruling after 23 years on death row came as a shock, Voepel said.

"I said, 'Debra, we have good news. We won,"' Voepel said, recalling a phone call Thursday. "And she said, `you're kidding, you're kidding," and I tried to explain it to her and she said just give me a minute here to feel this. She's elated, to say the least."

Milke, 48, is one of three women on death row in the state.

The two men convicted in the Milke case, Roger Scott and former Milke roommate James Styers, are also on death row. Scott confessed during a police interrogation and led detectives to the boy's body. Neither Scott nor Styers testified against Milke.

The county attorney at the time, Rick Romley, was not so happy. "If she walks, it's a travesty of justice," Romley told KPHO-TV.

Christopher Milke's father, Arizona Mark Milke, was just as adamant.

"And they let her walk, the most guilty of the three, uh-uh," he told KPNX-TV in Phoenix. "I know she's guilty, I don't think nothing, I know. I've always known. I'm just ready to get
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Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/debra-milke-update-attorney-general-tom-horne-intends-to-appeal-overturn-of-death-sentence#ixzz2NlVasQAQ

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Tom Horne kennt keine Gnade. Er erklärte den Fall zur Chefsache, will die gebürtige Steglitzerin hinter Gittern sehen. „Ich werde mich persönlich dafür einsetzen. Das habe ich in den letzten fünf Monaten in zwei anderen Verfahren auch getan“. Und die waren erfolgreich für Horne. Nun will er Debbies Verfahren an den Obersten Gerichtshof der USA herantragen.

http://www.berliner-kurier.de/panorama/berlinerin-debbie-milke-in-todeszelle-der-staatsanwalt--der-keine-gnade-kennt,7169224,22132540.html (Archiv-Version vom 19.03.2013)