Reference no: EM132269285

Essay: Did She or Didn't She? The Case of Debra Milke

Debra Jean Milke (born March 10, 1964) is a German American woman who spent over 25 years in prison in the state of Arizona. She was one of three people sentenced to death for the December 2, 1989 shooting death of her four-year-old son, Christopher Conan Milke.

Her alleged conspirators were her roommate James Lynn Styers and his friend Roger Mark Scott. Neither testified against her and both agreed that she was not present at the shooting. Scott implicated Milke as the mastermind while Styers said she had no involvement whatsoever. They implicated each other as the actual shooter.

In 2013, Milke's conviction was overturned based on information that the lead investigator in the case had a history of lying, and that his testimony of Milke's confession was highly suspect. Milke's case was set for retrial in February 2015, however it was then decided that Milke cannot be retried.

Here are some links to additional information:

• AZ Talk: Do we owe Debra Milke anything?

• Debra Milke, who spent 22 years on Arizona death row, has murder case tossed

Then address the following in an essay:

• What are the facts of the case?

• What questions are you left with?

• Do you feel as though Milke is guilty or not guilty and please support with a factual basis to your conclusion.