Guilty, to be proven innocent: Debra Jean Milke

1990 - Today

Debra Jean Milke was only 25 years old when she was arrested for the murder of
her only child, Christopher in 1989. She has served more than 20 years the only female inmate in Perryvilles Death Row unit, and one of only 30 females currently awaiting the Death Penalty in the United States. The most shocking is that Debra was found guilty largely for the fact that the detective claimed she confessed to the crime, though strangely, there was not even a witness, nor proof of this. Debra came out of a difficult relationship with her drug dependant husband, as her main concern above all was to provide a healthy environment for her son, Christopher. She was trying to rise herself above poverty and dependency. Just as she was about to accomplish this, she was a victim of obsession which brought a sad twist to the story which resulted in the tragedy in which her 4 year old son was murdered in the deserts of Arizona. Enter Armando Saldate, the police detective for her case. Her alleged confession was the foundation for her prosecution and verdict. However, we read Debras testimony and this supposed foundation crumbles to pieces as we soon find out how much evidence Saldate fabricated. This confession was never tape recorded nor was there a witness to validate any statements. Saldate disregarded completely when Debra requested a lawyer and in his report he states falsely that Debra did not want the interrogation recorded. It had apparently been to Saldates understanding that Jim and Roger were to receive $ 5,000 from Debras life insurance policy on Christopher. However, the catch is that Debra never had a life insurance policy on Christopher; it was instead Debras father, Richard Sadeik who thus would be (and was) the beneficiary. Still, so even if it was the intention, neither Debra, nor Jim, nor Roger would receive any payment from the insurance and the way the corpse was hidden by all the trees and bushes, everyone who had ever been to the murder-scene confirms that the little boy would have hardly been

found within days, though Saldate claimed that Scott indicated that it should not be too far away because they [Styers] had wanted the child found within two or three days so he could collect the $ 5,000 life insurance policy. The detective also skipped one of the most basic steps when officers interview suspectsgetting them to sign a Miranda waiver, which Debra was never given. She never knew her Miranda rights. She never had a fair trial. Media frenzy claimed that Debra had a going relationship with one of the killers, Jim Styers. She was clearly the victim of journalists jumping into conclusions, and using false allegations and widely-spread contentions to paint an unreal image of Debra, in which this media-manipulation led to the ultimate miscarriage of justice. In every case where provable police misconduct can be unearthed and landed an innocent person on death row, it imposes unspeakable tragic not only on the individual in question, but also on its entire family and friends. Our local and state government needs to live up to their obligations and avoid a win at any cost policy in lieu of justice being served. This should be avoided at all costs.

Many thanks to
http://www.debbiemilke.com/

Here is contact information of some groups and individuals if you would like to help:
Center for Death Penalty Litigation Inc. Suite 301 201 West Main Street Durham, North Carolina 27701-3228 Telephone: 919-956-9545 | Facsimile: 919-956-9547 E-mail: cdpl@cdpl.org ACLU of Arizona PO Box 17148, Phoenix, AZ 85011-0148 Allisandra Soler Meetze Telephone: (602) 650-1967 | Facsimile: (602) 650-1376 http://www.acluaz.org/contact Amnesty International 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Telephone: +44-20-74135500 | Facsimile: +44-20-79561157 http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact

The Baez Law Firm 522 Simpson Road Kissimmee, FL 34744 Telephone: (407) 705-2626 | Facsimile: (407) 705-2625 E-mail: office@baezlawfirm.com Arizona Death Penalty Forum Telephone: 602.774.0007 E-mail: danp@azdeathpenalty.org Goodyear Arizona 190 N. Litchfield Road, Goodyear AZ 85338 Telephone: 623-932-3910 http://www.goodyearaz.gov/index.aspx?NID=3 To send an e-mail, click on Ask a Question.

If you would like to send Debbie a letter personally, the following is her inmate address:
Debra Jean Milke #083533 ASPC - Perryville P.O. Box 3000 Goodyear, AZ 85395

It seems impossible, until its done.