Debra Milke speaks out after 23 years on death row

Debra Milke, the Arizona woman who spent more than two decades on death row for killing her son before a court decision freed her from prison, proclaimed her innocence in the first extended comments she has made to the media since her release.

"I just wanted to start off by saying I had absolutely nothing to do with the brutal murder of my son, Christoper," Milke said in a news conference Tuesday morning in central Phoenix.

Murder charges against Milke were formally dismissed in a brief hearing on Monday morning in Maricopa County Superior Court.

"I always believed this day would come I just didn't think it would take 25 years, 3 months and 14 days to rectify such a blatant miscarriage of justice," Milke said.

Listen to Milke's full statement:

Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court turned down appeals by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to reinstate murder charges against Milke and to compel a disgraced detective to testify in the case.

Milke's conviction and death sentence were thrown out in March 2013 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court returned the case to Maricopa County Superior Court because the original prosecutor failed to disclose evidence that might have helped Milke's attorneys challenge testimony from a Phoenix police detective.

The detective, Armando Saldate, claimed that Milke confessed to him, but there were no witnesses to the confession, nor was it recorded. And the prosecution did not turn over the detective's personnel record, which showed misconduct in other cases.

The County Attorney's Office resumed prosecution of Milke after the 9th Circuit ruling, but Milke's lawyers, Michael Kimerer and Lori Voepel, appealed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. They asked the appellate court to throw out the charges because of double jeopardy and now-retired prosecutor Noel Levy's "egregious behavior" in the case. That led to the December decision throwing out the charges against Milke.

Milke appeared with Kimerer and Voepel at a news conference Tuesday morning and Milke's attorneys spoke first, praising Milke for her attitude.

"I sit here today in a state of disbelief that we've gotten to this point. This case has been a nightmare to Debra Milke for over 25 years," Kimerer said. "We had tears, we had heartbreaks but we always came back because of Debra."

Milke, 51, spent 23 years on Arizona death row in the December 1989 murder of her 4-year-old son, Christopher. She had allegedly arranged for two male friends to kill the boy so that she could collect an insurance payout. They told him he was going to the mall to see Santa Claus, but instead took him to the desert and shot him in the head.

Those two men, James Styers and Roger Scott, remain on death row.

Milke's conviction and death sentence were thrown out in March 2013 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court returned the case to Maricopa County Superior Court because the original prosecutor failed to disclose evidence that might have helped Milke's attorneys challenge testimony from a Phoenix police detective.

Milke dedicated the first portion of her remarks to her son and the pain his absence has caused in her life.

"My little son Christoper meant everything to me. I miss him terribly. I think about him every single day," she said. "Often I hear his cute little laugh in my mind that instantly brings a smile to me as I member the many hugs and kisses."

But Milke spent as much time talking about the false confession she said Saldate coerced her into making, and said her case should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who finds themselves involved in the criminal-justice system.

"This could happen to any one of you," she said.