Phoenix, AZ—Debra Milke sat on Death Row for just a tad short of 24 years. A corrupt and now disgraced former Phoenix cop, Armando Saldate fabricated a confession after he was unable to legitimately obtain one from Milke.
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals investigated Saldate and found he was a serial perjurer. Aside from Milke’s case apparently four people are doing life in prison and two were executed based on Saldate’s claims. That court reversed Milke’s convictions and death sentence. They also requested an investigation into the violation of Milke’s rights by cops and prosecutors.
The Bible teaches that no man should be stoned to death on the word of a single witness. That is wise because in our world lies roll off tongues by the second. People lie when the same result could be obtained by telling the truth. Lies are just too plentiful and easy to spread. This is not about religion but common sense and simple fairness.
There are those people that for some strange reason, perhaps needing attention or excitement in their pathetic lives that confess to infamous crimes. Unfortunately that’s all that’s need to get executed. A confession alone is not enough; there also must be an actual crime involved. Every time there is a high profile murder and no immediate arrests are made it’s not uncommon for people to begin confessing. Police agencies are usually desperate to show the media they have solved the crime and more than happy to make the arrest.
