Egregious Prosecutorial Misconduct Freed Debra Milke From a Conviction and Death Sentence.

Phoenix, AZ—Prosecutors went to the Court of Last Resort to salvage their soiled reputations and that of a disgraced former cop. Finally Debra Milke is free even though she already paid a price far greater than that of most convicted murderers in America. 

It was not just Prosecutorial Misconduct that freed Milke but it was really about her innocence.  

Had there been a retrial there was not a scintilla of a chance they'd have re-convicted Milke.  This was just nothing more than an "Hail Mary" effort to limit corrupt official's liability under the doctrine of Collateral Estoppel.  That's legalese that would decree in a civil lawsuit that since the judge let the trial commence, that the cops and prosecutors were acting in good faith. 

This has been a 25 yearlong odyssey that began December 3, 1989.  That day I met Milke as she was being booked into the Madison Street Jail on a charge of murdering her four-year old son Christopher.

It was just two hours earlier when Former Phoenix police detective Armando Saldate claimed Milke confessed this horrible crime to him.  He was told to record any interview with her but didn’t. He kicked out fellow officers and medical personal from a nurse’s office at the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department headquarters to preclude any witnesses.

Now at the jail using a hidden tape recorder I asked Milke if she told the police she had anything to do with the death of her son.  She became angry and responded, “That’s crazy, who told you that?  I had nothing to do with the death of my son!”

Since Milke had not been allowed to make a single phone call or get advice from anyone in that short time space it was obvious that there was never a confession.

At her trial Milke had a grossly ineffective and pathetic lawyer.  I was  never called as a witness where I could have played my crucial audio tape for the jury.  If I could record Milke why could't Saldate? 

The only evidence that convicted Milke was Saldate’s perjury where he claimed that Milke Confessed. Milke was sentenced to the Gas Chamber and spent decades in solitary confinement on Death Row at Arizon's Perryville Prison.

This changed after Milke finally got better lawyers and after more than a decade their efforts culminated in this final ruling that the case must be dismissed with prejudice.  That effectively and finally ended the 25 year nightmare of Debra Milke.

Aside of the relief for Debra Milke other victims of prosecutorial and police misconduct will benefit from the Milke ruling.   The most immediate beneficiary with be convicted killer Jodi Arias.  That's because cops destroyed computer evidence that would have supported Arias’ claim she killed her former boyfriend in necessary self-defense.

Prosecutorial misconduct is rampant in America.  Prosecutors routinely hide evidence from the defense lawyers that points to the innocence of their clients.  

Since the police investigate the cases with people are killed or injured they control nearly all the evidence that exists.  It’s here were is where the cheating begins.

Prosecutors and cops have nearly blanket immunity for their misconduct and that’s why they rarely face punishment even after they are caught red handed.   That immunity is obviously the root of the problem.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery went to the wall to protect the thugs in his office responsible for the Milke travesty.  Montgomery however could not succeed with the overwhelming evidence that exposed this epic misconduct.

Sadly the only people punished here with be the taxpayers.  There with be no discipline or criminal charges for cops or prosecutors. They won’t have to pay a single penny for their dastardly deeds. Taxpayer-funded lawyers will defend these creeps in court.

Milke now has serious legal help in the form of civil lawyers and they have filed a lawsuit on her behalf for the violation of her civil rights.

That 72-page complaint is a sordid saga of one outrageous act after another.  It should make every American’s blood boil.  We’d expect this kind of activity in Iran, North Korea or Hitler’s Germany but not here!

Who is Arizona Milke, a Victim or Just Another Dysfunctional Drug Addicted Ex-Convict?

Phoenix, AZ—Mark Henry Milke has legally changed his name to Arizona Milke.  It’s understandable, he’s got a very troubled past.  He is an ex-convict and drug addict that happens to be the father of four-year old Christopher Milke.  James Styers and Roger Scott murdered Young Christopher Milke in December of 1989.

If Debra Milke is guilty of any wrongdoing it was by being smitten as a young adult by this smooth older con man.  Mark Milke had that bad boy image and young Debra was delusional that she could meet the challenge to somehow change and tame him. 

Mark Milke was a sometime carpet installer when he was not in jail, prison or simply idle because of alcoholism, mental illness or his drug addiction.  Milke has a long documented history of domestic violence with numerous women.  The Orders of Protection, mental commitments and criminal cases were once all available at the Maricopa County Court Clerks records.  Later the law was changed and his mental commitments were removed from public viewing.  I still have two old case numbers.

Early in their failed marriage Debra, soon learned that Mark was dangerous and a horrible excuse for a father.  He did not support his child and refused to stop his law breaking and substance abuse.  Mark threatened Debra and Christopher and that sent Debra Milke running to the courts for protection during their divorce.

Debra Milke had to seek safety from Mark and her sister knew a sometime church going James Styers who was a single father of a girl  Christopher’s age.  Styers was a Marine veteran living on a disability pension.  More importantly Styers had a two-bedroom apartment and offered to rent one to Debra and her son. 

Styers quickly tried to romance Debra but she understandably rebuffed the older man.  Soon Debra got a better paying job across town and rented her own two bedroom apartment in Tempe close to her job.  It was after Debra’s announcement to James that he and Roger Scott decided to kill Christopher.  Was this because Styers believed Debra would not move away while her son was missing?  Did Styers somehow think he‘d finally be in line for Debra’s affections under those circumstances?

Mark Milke took no part in Christopher’s murder but I think it’s clear that his mental illness, drug addiction and threatening violence placed little Christopher right into harm's way.  I’m convinced that had Mark Milke been any kind of a father Christopher would be alive today.  Mark Milke is not without serious guilt here.

When Christopher was murdered Mark Milke quickly became a self-promoter.  He immediately used his new status and fame to garner sympathy, sex and financial support from gullible women.  Some of the women later got Orders of Protection and later had to flee from Mark Milke too.

Mark Milke’s new pick-up line was, “My ex-wife murdered my son to get back at me!”  He’d carry around a little Teddy bear and his son’s ashes in a belt fanny pack.    Soon Mark Milke misplaced Christopher’s ashes and to this day does not know where they may be. 

Mark Milke bragged to me after the trial and sentencing of his ex-wife how he hid the family photo album from her lawyer and trial court.  He actually loaned it to me to photograph for a future Channel 10 television story.  In it there were hundreds of great color photographs of a very happy Debra and Christopher Milke.  A clean apartment, great kids clothes, toys and there was a wonderful story of motherly love revealed by those pictures.

Mark Milke has capitalized on his son’s murder in every way he could.  His conduct was beyond disgraceful and despicable.  Arizona Mark Milke has never missed an opportunity to smear his long-suffering ex-wife with the media.  Due perhaps to financial reasons the media no longer vets their sources.   So this troubled ex-con-husband is allowed to smear Debra Milke relentlessly and unchallenged.

In all of Mr. Milke’s efforts to smear his former wife claiming he “knows she is guilty” he never once mentions that he was unable to give police or prosecutors one scintilla of evidence of her involvement in the crime.  Arizona Milke never testified in any proceeding whatsoever in this case.  That alone should scuttle any credibility of his outrageous and self-serving claims.   

As for Debra Milke She has won a new trial for now and will have to continue the fight for her freedom.  However now the prosecution has been exposed for their outrageous obstruction of justice, promotion of detective Armando Saldate's perjury and the truth seems to be traveling in the direction of setting Debra Milke free.