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| Arizona death row mother Debra Milke released | Arizona death row mother Debra Milke released |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 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. | 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. | 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 a detective whose credibility has since been questioned. | Milke, 49, allegedly confessed to a detective whose credibility has since been questioned. |
| She will remain on bail as prosecutors mount a new trial. | 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 who testified that Milke had confessed the crime to him. | A court of appeals overturned her conviction in March this year after questions were raised about a now-retired detective 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. | 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. | |
| Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty again at Milke's retrial, currently set for 30 September. |