A judge has formally dismissed the case against an Arizona woman who spent more than 20 years on death row for the killing of her 4-year-old son. Debra Jean Milke appeared Monday morning in Maricopa County Superior Court before Judge Rosa Mroz.
Mroz entered an order of dismissal with prejudice releasing Milke. Moments after the judge adjourned, a lawyer put her arm around Milke. Milke's next stop was her parole officer and possible remove of a monitoring bracelet she's been ordered to wear.
Milke's attorneys said the case against the 51-year-old is essentially over after the Arizona Supreme Court rejected prosecutors' bid for a retrial last week. A federal appeals court overturned her 1990 murder conviction in 2013, ruling prosecutors failed to disclose a history of misconduct by the case investigator.
Since then, Milke has been free on bond. Authorities say she told her son he was going to see Santa Claus at a mall before he was taken into the desert and shot in the head by two men.
AP contributed to this story
