PHOENIX (AP) - A judge is considering whether to bar a retrial of an Arizona woman who spent more than two decades on death row before having her conviction overturned in her son’s killing.
Debra Milke’s lawyers say a retrial would amount to double jeopardy due to prosecutorial misconduct in her original trial.
Prosecutors argue they may have made mistakes but did not intentionally deceive Milke’s lawyers.
Milke was released on bond in September. She was convicted in 1990 of having two men kill her 4-year-old son.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned her conviction in March. The panel cited the prosecution’s failure to turn over evidence that called into question the credibility of the state’s key witness - a detective who told jurors Milke confessed.
Arguments were heard Friday.
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