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FNN: Former Death Row Inmate Debra Milke and her Lawyers Speak to Press — Transcript

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0:17can you hear me in the back of the room
0:22there let me move this up just a little
0:27bit can you hear that any better
0:31yes great well welcome to you all um we
0:35are very pleased to to uh have you all
0:39here today and to have this opportunity
0:44for Deborah milky and her fine lawyers
0:48and some of her her most Ardent
0:51supporters to uh share with you some of
0:55their
0:56observations uh as they have lived
0:58through this experience that you all
1:01know about uh that that has spanned more
1:07than two uh Decades of Deborah milky's
1:10life my name is Larry Hammond I'm with
1:13the law firm of Osborne madon and am the
1:17President of the Arizona Justice project
1:21I like a lot of uh people have been
1:24involved in in Deborah milky's case and
1:27working with her lawyers uh for many
1:31many years so it's a special honor for
1:33me to be able to introduce you to the
1:37people who will be speaking today let me
1:40tell you briefly first how how we uh
1:44intend to proceed uh we we have have
1:49asked Deborah to share uh her views and
1:54her words with you first uh we would
1:58Mike oh Mike is going to speak first
2:01that's what I get for for forgetting my
2:04script
2:06uh so as I said Mike is GNA speak
2:11first and then Lori
2:14B and then
2:18Deborah all right I knew that was what
2:20it was uh so uh so we will proceed in
2:25that way and then I have a couple other
2:28people who I want to to introduce you to
2:33um who we've also asked to to say say a
2:36few words and and once we've had that
2:39opportunity and they've had that
2:41opportunity we will then
2:44entertain um questions uh our time is
2:48relatively limited so we do want to move
2:52forward as expeditiously as we we can
2:56and thank you all for your
2:58cooperation uh um Mike let me start with
3:02with you as I think you all know Mike
3:05Kim and and Lori Vel have been the
3:09lawyers handling this case now for many
3:13years there are other lawyers in the
3:15room who have also devoted significant
3:18years of their lives to this case but
3:21Michael and and Lori were the ones who
3:24were who were here for the last very
3:28difficult years of this case so Michael
3:31let me turn it over to you thank
3:34you I don't know if this is on or if you
3:36can hear me back
3:43there turn it up just move it closer
3:47move it
3:48closer no does that better okay okay
3:53great let me get it up here
3:54closer well first thank you for all
3:57coming uh we scheduled this press
3:59conference because we thought it would
4:01be good if we could have all of you here
4:02at one time and it gave Deborah a chance
4:05to speak and give her thoughts about
4:07what is happened to her I kind of sit
4:10here today in really a state of
4:12disbelief that we have gotten to this
4:15point this case has been a nightmare for
4:18Deborah milky for over 25
4:21years
4:22uh it started back in December
4:272nd still not okay de December 2nd
4:311989 when she was arrested and
4:34ultimately falsely
4:36convicted for conspiring to have her son
4:40killed and here she was an innocent
4:43woman she was incarcerated for 24 years
4:4722 years on death
4:50row and the journey that led us here and
4:55why we're sitting here today has not
4:57been an easy Journey it's been a long
4:59Journey it's had its ups and it's had
5:02its downs and it's had its tears and
5:04it's had its heartbreaks and it's had
5:06its
5:07successes and I have a great deal of
5:10gratitude that we're sitting here today
5:13knowing for Deborah her nightmare has
5:16finally over and that she's a free woman
5:19and that she can now have a life for the
5:23years that she has left to enjoy what
5:26what all the rest of us get to enjoy in
5:28the world in which she was deprived of
5:31for over 24
5:33years
5:36uh when I look at this case I think many
5:40of you know about the myth of Copus you
5:42know the guy that was the immortal that
5:44offended the gods and the God said he
5:47has to roll this big boulder up a
5:48mountain all the time and every time it
5:50got to the top the boulder rolled back
5:52down again and that's many ways what we
5:56experienced throughout this particular
5:59case
6:00we were constantly rolling the boulder
6:02up the mountain and it would come back
6:04down again and we'd walk back down and
6:08keep trying to push it up the mountain
6:10uh fortunately this time it's
6:12stuck uh Lori and I first became
6:16involved in this case 15 years
6:19ago and you know many times we criminal
6:22defense attorneys are always ask the
6:23question how do you offend somebody
6:24that's
6:25guilty
6:27and the straight answer and most of you
6:30here know that because you've been in
6:31the system for a long time as you know
6:34many of our clients are
6:36guilty we are here because they have
6:39rights under our constitution to have
6:40lawyers and they have rights that need
6:42to be protected and that's our job and
6:44everyone is entitled to that but I'll
6:47tell you the hardest case that any
6:49defense attorney can ever have is when
6:52you have an innocent
6:54client and when Lori and I got involved
6:56in this case 15 years ago we took it
7:00over after all the state appeals had
7:04been
7:05lost Deborah was on death
7:09row the media had characterized her as
7:12this demonic woman that had tried to
7:15have her own or who had actually killed
7:17her own son and conspired to do
7:21it uh so when we got into the case we
7:24were at the bottom of the
7:26mountain and we started looking at the
7:29files Lori dug into the files and all of
7:33a sudden as we looked at everything we
7:35realized looking at all the evidence
7:36that this woman is we have an innocent
7:40client and with all the other things you
7:42have going against you now you have that
7:44pressure that this woman is innocent
7:46because there was no real evidence
7:48against Deborah milky except this
7:52so-called confession that came from a
7:53dirty
7:55cop and we started looking at the
7:59history of the case and there was some
8:02great work done by lawyers before we
8:05even got here uh you take Ken Ray her
8:08trial
8:09counsel uh he did a good job trying to
8:13represent her but he was fighting an
8:15uphill battle the deck was stacked
8:18against him he knew all he had was a he
8:21said she said situation and he was
8:23trying to find evidence to give some
8:25balance to it and he was thed and
8:27blocked in that effort
8:30and then after the appeal was
8:32lost we had Anders rosenquist who
8:35handled the rule
8:3732 and really kind of cracked the many
8:40of the things open because he found a
8:42whole bunch of law students who could go
8:45out and try to go through files and look
8:47through those files and find information
8:50about this police
8:52officer salati and they did they found
8:5620 cases of misconduct they found cases
8:58where there were judicial findings where
9:00he had lied he had violated people's
9:02civil rights he abused the system and
9:05and bragged about had a reputation for
9:07doing it there were courts in our system
9:10that found him to
9:12be
9:14responsible for basically being a dirty
9:18cop that violated people's civil rights
9:20all of that was out there all of that
9:23was probably known by the prosecutors
9:25but none of that was ever given to Ken
9:27Ray to have so he could impeach Sal body
9:29at a
9:31trial
9:34and with all of that to take that and to
9:38put it together with everything else and
9:40to try to do some of the other things I
9:43want to really point out my co-counsel
9:46Lori Vel she has been the laboring ore
9:50in this case all the way through her
9:53heart and soul has been in it from the
9:54day we
9:55started she has probably done some of
9:58the most brilliant appellant work I have
10:01ever seen a lawyer
10:03do and she never gave up we had setbacks
10:07and she thought and we have had tears
10:11and we have had
10:12heartbreaks but we were
10:15always always came back because of
10:17Deborah
10:20and you know I look back in kind of a
10:24brief history of this and I'll be as
10:26brief as I possibly can but when we
10:29started we started at the federal system
10:31on our the appeal uh we went to the
10:34district court level uh
10:36Lori found a way to ask the district
10:39court
10:41to try to find more evidence about Sal
10:43da in his file and we did she found it
10:48was turned over a report where he had
10:51basically uh engaged as a police officer
10:54in trying to let somebody go in exchange
10:56for sex he was reported he denied it
10:59happened took a lie detector test failed
11:03it uh and then admitted that he had done
11:06this and there was a complete record by
11:08the chief of the police at the time
11:10saying this man's credibility is no good
11:12that he is basically was a liar and you
11:16couldn't believe him and yet this was
11:19stuff that was kept from Ken Ray at the
11:22trial and it was in his personnel file
11:24but was never disclosed by the
11:26prosecution that with all of the other
11:28things she put together we thought we
11:30had a good chance at the district court
11:32level of of winning we didn't it was
11:36denied so we then went to the ninth
11:39circuit and we went through a series of
11:42different briefings there were two
11:44arguments before this uh ninth circuit
11:47they set the case back uh one time
11:50because there's a procedure where you
11:51can have a settlement conference theight
11:54circuit
11:56and the problem was a settlement
11:58conference
11:59is they will always want the client to
12:02come in and say well I've done something
12:05and then we may get let you off for time
12:07served or something like
12:09that there was no way that we could even
12:12do that or would even try to do that
12:15because of our client Deborah mky
12:17Deborah has always said I am innocent I
12:21absolutely never had anything to
12:24do with my son's death and there is no
12:28way under any circumstance whatsoever
12:31could I ever come forward and say that I
12:34did something just to get off I would
12:37rather suffer the death penalty before I
12:39ever did anything like
12:41that
12:43uh they even sent the case back to the
12:46district court for a hearing and again
12:48we thought you know uh the hearing went
12:52well we thought we might we might have
12:55have some
12:57success and the it came back to see if
12:59her Miranda rights had been violated and
13:03salani was under oath admitted he broke
13:06some civil rights and said I just leave
13:08that up to the courts uh but
13:12unfortunately we were
13:14denied and getting back to my myth of
13:17cispus it's you kind ask the question
13:20you know why in the world after you get
13:22that Boulder rolls down the mountain do
13:24you ever walk back up
13:27again well
13:29it's because you have hope and our hope
13:33in this case came from De she was our
13:36inspiration
13:40in she was our Deborah was the one that
13:45was always there and I mean Lori and I
13:48would visit her at prison and you know
13:52we would be you know after you suffer
13:54defeat like that when we thought we were
13:56going to
13:57win uh we were we were down and who
14:02inspired us and who gave us the strength
14:04to start pushing that bould up the mount
14:06again it was Deborah cuz Deborah said
14:10you know she
14:12says don't
14:14worry I'm
14:16innocent and I'm innocent and will'll
14:20win and at that time it just didn't look
14:23real good for us but we kept on fighting
14:27Lori did just some brilliant work and
14:29putting things together we had more
14:31briefing and then finally in March
14:3313th of
14:352013 the ninth circuit ruled and they
14:39ruled in Deborah's favor they reversed
14:42her conviction and they sent it back for
14:45determination to whether there's going
14:46to be a retrial at the county attorney's
14:49office level or not and it wasn't just
14:52another decision it was just not a
14:54decision to say we reverse this it was a
14:57Monumental decision it was a decision
15:00that really for a long
15:03time uh which would needed to be done
15:07addressed prosecutors that hid
15:10information and here they found the
15:12conduct was egregious how information
15:16was kept back and that the county
15:18attorney's office at that time had to
15:20know had to know that that information
15:23was there because some of these cases
15:24that SOA had been involved in they were
15:29cases that courts had ruled on they were
15:31handling him in same office and they
15:34were findings about his misconduct in
15:37his lying in cases in railroading
15:41defendants and yet none of this was ever
15:44produced and it was a blistering opinion
15:48by the ninth circuit they said it was
15:50egregious
15:52conduct
15:54and when it was sent back we were hoping
15:58based on what they showed because they
16:02clarified and you have to realize the
16:04court spent years going through the
16:06evidence listening to all the arguments
16:09and in that period of time they found
16:13the only evidence here that really
16:15connected her to anything in the the
16:18death of her son was this so-called
16:21confession that sod claimed he had
16:24obtained from her in 30 minutes never
16:26making a record of it never recording it
16:30and yet that was the evidence that
16:33she was convicted of when it was
16:35presented in court because no one was
16:37able to challenge The credibility of
16:40Sadi about his history his past because
16:43it was all covered up and we didn't have
16:45all the computers back then where you
16:47could look and find all of this stuff
16:48easily that's why what Andre rosenquist
16:51did was so a Monumental task when he
16:54found law students that could go out and
16:56go through microfish and files and all
16:59of this misconduct by
17:02salati
17:06uh Unfortunately they decided to retry
17:09the case and we tried to convince the
17:12county attorney's office that there was
17:13no evidence if you use the standard of
17:15Reason likelihood of uh prosecution of
17:19that they would get a conviction we felt
17:22the chances of that were were slim the
17:24only evidence again was this so-called
17:27confession but they went ahead and made
17:30the decision to go ahead and proceed
17:32which they did so we started to get
17:34ready to retry the case
17:36again in one of the Motions we filed
17:39that went into the court of appeals was
17:41a motion on Double Jeopardy because the
17:43ninth circuit had said this conduct of
17:45the prosecution was so egregious it went
17:47beyond the pale and as a consequence you
17:51know we use that as an argument it was
17:53their fault that she had that trial so
17:55Double Jeopardy said in
17:58that went up to our court of appeals in
18:01our court of appeals in another amazing
18:05decision utilizing many of the findings
18:08of the ninth circuit but also looking at
18:11the whole thing and said this is
18:13egregious conduct what happened here to
18:16Deborah milky is an
18:18outrage and what happened here is a
18:20stain on our Criminal Justice
18:23System the state appeal and they ended
18:27up ruling at that point to Mr case with
18:30prejudice uh the state appeal to the
18:32Supreme Court the Supreme Court upheld
18:35the court of appeals by denying
18:38review and that's why we're here today
18:41after all that
18:43process Deborah milky has finally been
18:47Vindicated she's an innocent woman who
18:51never should have been
18:52convicted she was a victim of a dirty
18:55cop she was a victim of
19:01prosecutors sitting
19:04on
19:06evidence that probably would have saved
19:09her and saved her from 25 24 years in
19:13prison 22 of those years being on death
19:16row and I want to talk about really the
19:19unsung hero in the case and the that's
19:22our
19:23courts our courts really came to
19:27Deborah's rescue and I give give them a
19:29great deal of credit for the courage
19:31they showed because we've had Brady
19:34violations over the years and we have
19:36seen them basically people just getting
19:38a slap on a hand and people ignoring
19:40them but in these two opinions the
19:43courts have made a
19:45statement and there are lessons that
19:49they have given us out of those
19:52opinions number one it's very clear now
19:56that if there is favorable evidence that
19:59can exculpate or help or mitigate a
20:03defendant the prosecutors not only have
20:05a duty to find it they have a duty to
20:06give it and turn it over it's their
20:10responsibility and if there's egregious
20:12misconduct by police or prosecutors
20:15there are going to be harsh
20:17consequences that for years has not been
20:20the
20:21case they also pointed out the whole
20:23thing about custodial
20:25interrogations that if you're going to
20:27have custodial interrogations verify it
20:30this just somebody is coming in and
20:32saying this is what someone said you
20:34know Sal had a chance and was ordered to
20:37record the statement that he got from
20:40Deborah milky he didn't do it he didn't
20:43let his partner in the room he just
20:45walked in there for 30 minutes came out
20:47and said she confessed and Deborah milky
20:49said I never confessed I'm innocent I
20:51never did
20:55anything I think this will these
20:58opinions will help spur a movement in
21:00this country where anyone in custody is
21:03interrogated those inter those
21:05interrogations have to be tape recorded
21:08we have so much technology now there's
21:09no reason that doesn't happen and I
21:12think they're also saying in these
21:14opinions that there need to be checks on
21:17our systems of Justice or our system our
21:20police systems and our prosecutor
21:22systems so they don't become Rogue they
21:25don't develop a culture of this type of
21:27misconduct and it just can't ever happen
21:30again and so even though this is a case
21:34that's the I guess it's the end for deah
21:37the case is it's a beginning of her new
21:39life i' like to think these cases even
21:41Mark something that's a bigger beginning
21:45and that is that maybe in our Criminal
21:48Justice System we have seen a beginning
21:50where prosecutors and police are going
21:53to have to be responsible for their
21:56conduct all I can say here here is a
22:00nightmare for Deborah milky of 25 years
22:03is now over she is an innocent woman who
22:07should never have been
22:08convicted that she's here and free
22:12today and I can't tell
22:14you how happy we all are and happy such
22:18a flimsy word I'm just overwhelmed and
22:22overwhelmed I it's hard to describe the
22:24emotion I feel that we finally got here
22:28I mean there were so many moments when
22:29Lori and I we didn't dream we would be
22:32sitting here today saying that Deborah
22:34milky is
22:36free thank
22:41[Applause]
22:44you thank you Mike um Lori Vel has
22:49already been identified and and Mike
22:51said truth when he talked about her
22:54extraordinary work in this case but I
22:57can't help but want to underscore that
23:01point I do not think you will find in
23:03the annals of
23:04lawyering uh in this state and I and I
23:07would say in the country of of a lawyer
23:11who has exhibited the the talents of
23:15advocacy at a level that Lori Vel
23:19brought to this team and this case and
23:23if there is ever an award given for
23:26perseverance in the face
23:29of of adversity Lori Vel ought to be the
23:32one to get it I'm pleased to introduce
23:35her thank you Larry I really appreciate
23:38that and the words of my co-counsel Mike
23:41it has been a long road and you know I
23:45hopefully can get through
23:46this I'm going to tell a little bit more
23:49of a personal story about my journey in
23:51this
23:52case um I was a first year law student
23:55when Deborah milky was tried convicted
23:58and sentenced to death and I'll never
24:02forget the images of Deborah Christopher
24:07detective
24:08salate and Deborah Cody finet splattered
24:11across every television screen and every
24:14newspaper in the state of Arizona it
24:16made a real impression on me just like
24:18it did most other people and I believed
24:23like so many others at the time that
24:25Deborah must have confessed to the
24:27horrific crime of dressing her child up
24:30in his favorite cowboy boots and sending
24:32him out telling him he was going to see
24:35Santa and instead sending him out to be
24:42murdered I never dreamt at that time
24:45that just 10 years
24:47later that I would begin working so hard
24:51for Deborah's freedom and
24:52Vindication and over the past 15 years
24:56that we've represented Deborah she has
24:59become not just a client but my
25:02friend my dear
25:06friend when I reviewed the enormous file
25:10in Deborah's case I was literally
25:12stunned at the lack of evidence linking
25:15her to this horrific crime thanks to the
25:19great work as Mike explained of Deb's
25:21trial lawyer and then by Andre
25:23rosenquist Terry capos uh Kirk fer and
25:27the postc conviction team of researchers
25:30that they assembled to spend thousands
25:33and thousands of hours
25:35uncovering cases involving this
25:37detective on microfish in the clerk's
25:41office there was no internet there were
25:42no electronically available records they
25:45did this by camping out at the clerk's
25:48office at the Maricopa County superior
25:50court and just digging through microfish
25:54hour after hour until they could find
25:57other cases in involving detective Sate
26:00it was an enormous feat and one that
26:03ultimately really helped turn things
26:05around it took a long time it should not
26:08have taken this long but it did and um
26:12because of all of that we were able to
26:14really start seeing what this case is
26:16all about and it was it was amazing um
26:21it it changed my mind it changed my
26:24outlook on uh cases and the criminal
26:28justice
26:29system and I learned that this case was
26:33not about a selfish self-centered woman
26:37who wanted rid of her young child as the
26:39state had portrayed it was about a young
26:4225y old mother who did her best to care
26:47for and protect her child and who fell
26:49into the clutches of a very dishonest
26:53manipulative and egocentric
26:56detective Deborah did not stand a chance
26:59alone in that room without a recorder
27:04without a witness and without any other
27:06form of
27:08corroboration with this man and if any
27:11of you saw him testify you would
27:14understand why why he won that swearing
27:17contest the hubris like I have never
27:21seen and there is no no form of
27:24corroboration as to what Deborah said
27:27and more importantly as to what she did
27:28not say she asked for a lawyer at the
27:32outset right after he read her rights he
27:35ignored her and then plowed over her in
27:38the course of the next 30
27:42minutes now although the great weight
27:45thankfully of media and public opinion
27:47have shifted gradually in de's favor
27:50over the years as more and more of the
27:53evidence and lack thereof in this case
27:56have been revealed there are a few who
27:58say I still just think and that
28:01Deborah's guilty that's what my gut
28:03says and all I can say to those few
28:06people is that none of you have reviewed
28:10the evidence in this case like I have
28:14and none of you have gotten to know
28:17Deborah as I have and
28:20so I will tell you that my gut is far
28:24more informed than yours
28:29everyone who has opened their minds and
28:33opened their eyes in this case and who
28:36have met Deborah
28:39agree that Deborah is not a
28:42monster she is an innocent woman who was
28:47wrongfully convicted and who paid a
28:50price that none of us can even imagine
28:53and should ever have to pay the loss of
28:56her precious child followed by her
29:00arrest and conviction for his death the
29:04loss of half of her precious life and
29:08nearly the loss of her very
29:14existence thankfully the courts starting
29:18with the ninth
29:19circuit finally started to see the grave
29:21Injustice done in Deborah's
29:24case as well as to Christopher I add
29:29it has now been two years since the
29:31ninth circuit issued its scathing
29:34opinion after re also reviewing the
29:37in-depth massive file in Deborah's case
29:41for a very long time they had this case
29:45for five
29:48years but unfortunately the decision to
29:51retry Deborah ended up costing her and
29:54it cost her more than just another two
29:56years
29:59because her dear mother ranata who had
30:02been fighting cancer for 5 years lost
30:05that battle this past August and Deborah
30:09lost the ability to spend 17 months and
30:13final days with
30:15her thankfully Deborah and her mother
30:18were able to spend two incredible visits
30:20together to which we were witness I
30:23lived for that day I'll tell you for
30:26that image that was my work was to see
30:30that day come and it
30:33did and she first saw her after
30:36Deborah's release in September of
30:392013 not withstanding ongoing chemo
30:42treatments she said wild horses are not
30:45going to stop me from seeing my
30:47daughter and one year ago for Deborah's
30:5050th
30:51birthday and thanks to judge marz's very
30:55wise and correct decision to releas
30:58Deborah on
30:59Bale she was able to have those two
31:01visits with her mother in person where
31:04they could touch and hug each other for
31:06the first time in 24 years imagine
31:13imagine and Deborah was able to Skype
31:15with her mother nearly every day during
31:18her release I was so thankful for
31:22that and now thanks to our Arizona
31:24pellet courts the attempt to retry
31:27Deborah has finally been brought to a
31:30halt to say that we are thrilled and
31:32relieved is indeed an
31:35understatement and to stand at the end
31:38of this long journey with Deborah with
31:40my co-counsel Mike kimmerer with our
31:43am's Council the ACLU Dan pakota Larry
31:47Hammond Rudy
31:50Gerber the center on wrongful
31:52convictions Steve drizen and Laura NY
31:56Ridder and the Arizona attorneys for
31:58criminal justice David Eisner and Kathy
32:01Brody this is a privileged sacred moment
32:05that I will never
32:07forget finally in addition to absorbing
32:11every inch of Deborah's file and
32:13learning this case inside and
32:17out and you know getting to know Deborah
32:21over the last 15 years as a client and
32:24as a woman on death row
32:28I've also gotten to know Deborah as a
32:29fellow
32:33mother the lawyer and me after reviewing
32:36the evidence knows
32:38intellectually that Deborah is an
32:40innocent woman but after getting to know
32:42Deborah as a fellow mother I know in my
32:45heart and soul that that is the
32:47case when Deborah was released from
32:50prison her first request of me was
32:53whether she could meet my child who was
32:55then 4 years old just like christop
32:57choper was when his life was taken away
33:00from him and from his
33:03mother and I took Deborah's hands and I
33:05told her I would be honored for her to
33:07meet my child and the two of them have
33:10developed a wonderful relationship she
33:13doesn't just call her Deborah she calls
33:15her Deborah
33:16[Laughter]
33:19milky and every time I see deborra with
33:22my daughter I know in my heart and soul
33:25that she is not capable and she has
33:28never been capable of the horrific crime
33:31that she was accused of committing
33:33against her own child and now I'd like
33:36to introduce our client and my very dear
33:39friend and fellow mother Deborah
33:43[Applause]
33:51milky this one in
33:54[Music]
33:56here okay
33:59right
34:01here okay this is in face all
34:07right I just want to start off by saying
34:11can you hear me I I had
34:15absolutely nothing to do with the brutal
34:19murder of my son
34:21Christopher and I did not give a
34:24confession to Mr Sate
34:28I always believed this day would come I
34:32just didn't think it would have to take
34:3525 years 3 months and 14 days to
34:41rectify such a blatant miscarriage of
34:47Justice losing a child to murder is a
34:51devastating
34:52tragedy with an in
34:55Indescribable pain that no parent should
34:59ever have to
35:02feel it is the purest form of
35:06Anguish imaginable that Sears the
35:10soul and the hurt never goes away
35:15ever the only thing equally worse is to
35:19be falsely accused of participating in
35:23your own child's
35:25death someone in this room room May
35:29identify
35:30with the pain of the loss of a
35:34child but I'm quite
35:37sure you don't know what it feels like
35:41to be accused by the authorities of
35:44contributing to
35:46it my little son
35:49Christopher meant everything to
35:52me and I love him with all my
35:55heart I miss him terribly and I think of
35:58him every single
36:01day he was such a
36:03sweet and affectionate
36:06child he loved to be silly and make
36:09others
36:12laugh often I hear his cute little laugh
36:16in my mind that instantly brings a smile
36:21to me as I remember the many hugs and
36:26kisses his
36:28I love you mommy Whispers in my
36:31ear and the darling smile he
36:35had that sometimes made it hard for me
36:38to say no to
36:40him he had many Curiosities but one of
36:44his most favorite things to
36:46do was to Pedal his big
36:50wheel as fast as he could put on the
36:53brakes and spin
36:54out he went through two big wheels
36:58until the motorized little cars caught
37:00his attention and yes he had one of
37:03those but thankfully he couldn't spin
37:05out with
37:06it he'd get the biggest kick out
37:10of popping the bubble I'd blow with
37:13bubble gum the bigger the bubble the
37:16more fun it was for him watching it
37:19deflate on my face caused the giggles
37:23followed
37:24by blow another one Mommy
37:30I have countless memories precious
37:32memories of Christopher that are etched
37:34in my
37:35mind my heart and
37:39mind no one can ever desecrate them and
37:42no one can ever take them away from
37:45me his death is a
37:48tragedy of unspeakable magnitude to me
37:52my family and those who loved
37:54him he is sorely missed but never
37:58forgotten as he will forever Remain the
38:02greatest joy and blessing in my
38:05life I live with
38:14a I live with an abiding sense of
38:18loss and a chunk of my heart is
38:22gone but Christopher's spirit is with me
38:26always
38:28which is a
38:30comfort to the remaining pieces of My
38:33Broken
38:38Heart being falsely accused of a crime
38:41you didn't commit is also a devastating
38:45tragedy try to imagine
38:48that as some of you sit in Judgment of
38:52me the prosecution against me was one of
38:56a malicious
38:58nature my innocence did not matter in
39:01their
39:02pursuit of a
39:04conviction honoring Christopher's memory
39:08did not matter in their pursuit of
39:11Justice we as US citizens living under
39:15the same Constitution deserve
39:20justice law enforcement officials are
39:24human and a badge or a law degree does
39:27not make them
39:29moral some of them are corrupt but many
39:33are
39:34not seeking a
39:37conviction at any cost is
39:40unconscionable and is not what defines
39:43Justice the chief judge of the ninth
39:46Circuit Court perfectly stated that
39:49quote bad cops and those who tolerate
39:54them put all of us in an untenable
39:57position position
39:59unquote Injustice does not
40:02discriminate what happened to me can
40:04happen to anyone as it has already
40:08hundreds of times over thus far across
40:12the
40:13country this could happen to any one of
40:16you and if you don't believe it could
40:20happen you're either
40:23misinformed or in a deep state of denial
40:28my legal fight pales in comparison to
40:32the immense pain in my heart and soul
40:35over the cruel death of
40:38Christopher but the unfortunate
40:41unfortunate encounter with Mr Sate who
40:45has a long history of lying fabricating
40:48evidence and violating people's
40:51rights left an indelible
40:54impression so traumatizing
40:58that I can still hear his life
41:00shattering
41:02words in
41:04closing I am profoundly grateful to my
41:08awesome lawyers Michael kimmerer and
41:10Lori
41:12Vel who lived and breathed my case for
41:15over a
41:17decade working tirelessly to redress
41:20this
41:21Injustice I extend my deepest thanks to
41:25the numerous lawyers who helped to
41:28restore honor and justice for my son
41:32Chris I give my heartfelt thanks to
41:35Frankie for his years of Relentless
41:38research and for being the voice for
41:42Chris and
41:43me to Pat and
41:46paty thank you for believing in
41:50me and for your unconditional love and
41:56support to my dear
41:58Mother for sacrificing so very much and
42:03walking with me down this pain-filled
42:08road to
42:10Paul for being an advocate of mine for
42:13many
42:15years and to the thousands of people out
42:19there for their belief in
42:22me kind sentiments and moral sense of
42:26justce Justice my
42:29heart is truly filled with enormous
42:32gratitude thank
42:35[Applause]
42:46you thank you Deborah uh before we
42:50entertain a a few questions there are a
42:54couple other people I would like to to
42:56introduce you to um we're very pleased
43:00to have with us today Professor Laura N
43:05riter uh who has come from Northwestern
43:10University School of Law uh in Chicago
43:15today to rejoin us she has been with us
43:20for quite some time and the center for
43:23wrongful convictions and the center for
43:25wrongful convictions of Youth has been
43:27involved in this case for now well over
43:31a decade some of you may remember two
43:35years ago an oped piece that appeared in
43:39the Arizona Republic written by
43:43Professor n Ryder about one of the
43:47critical issues in this case uh the
43:52question of the obligation of law
43:54enforcement to record
43:57interrogations the very thing that
44:00allowed this farce to continue for
44:04decades U we're very pleased that that
44:08Laura could join us and we would like to
44:11have you share with us some of your
44:14thoughts thank you very much um as Larry
44:18said I'm Laura n rider I'm a law
44:20professor and a lawyer in Chicago at
44:23Northwestern University School of Law at
44:26the center on wrongful convictions our
44:29Center has been involved in Deborah's
44:31case as Amicus cure basically Friend of
44:34the Court an organization with expertise
44:37on wrongful convictions and I first got
44:40involved in Deborah's case when I was a
44:43law student at Northwestern almost 10
44:46years ago her case was my introduction
44:49to the criminal justice system and from
44:52that moment on I knew that I had to
44:55study and pursue wrong wrongful
44:57convictions because this story was too
45:00horrible for
45:01words not only have I gone on to study
45:04wrongful convictions but our Center has
45:06also gone on to found a women's Project
45:08based on cases just like Deborah's
45:11involving women and mothers who' have
45:13been accused unjustly of the most
45:14horrible crimes but I'm here today
45:17because Deborah's case can teach us all
45:20crucial lessons about how to seek
45:24Justice right thanks to groups like The
45:27Innocence Project and the Arizona
45:28Justice project and our Center wrongful
45:31convictions are being uncovered
45:33everywhere if there's one thing we know
45:37is that no state in the country no
45:40jurisdiction and no prosecutor's office
45:43is immune from the problem of wrongful
45:47convictions but there are some places
45:50that are more ripe for wrongful
45:52convictions than others those are the
45:56places where the government has yet to
45:58take one of the most basic steps needed
46:02to make sure that the guilty go to
46:04prison and the innocent stay free I'm
46:07talking about the need to electronically
46:10record
46:12interrogations as we've heard Deborah
46:15milky's conviction and death sentence
46:17were based on nothing but the word of
46:20detective Armando
46:22salate detective salate took Deborah
46:25into an office by him himself he closed
46:28the door and he interrogated her about
46:31her son's death he came out of that room
46:34claiming that Deborah had confessed to
46:37having her son
46:38killed she came out of that room saying
46:41what are you talking about I never
46:44confessed that dispute about what
46:47happened behind that closed door has
46:50lasted 25
46:52years that's what this case has always
46:56been about
46:57but there could have been an easy answer
47:00a simple video recording of Deborah's
47:03interrogation from start to finish would
47:06have told us what happened behind that
47:08closed door and detective Sate knew this
47:12in fact he was ordered to record his
47:15interrogation of Deborah by his
47:16supervisor and he chose to disobey that
47:19order if we could just hit the play
47:21button the courts would be able to
47:24decide would have been able to decide
47:26whether Deborah was innocent the
47:29prosecutor would have helped become to
47:31have confidence that he wasn't
47:33Prosecuting an innocent woman and
47:35Deborah could have avoided 23 years
47:38spent in the hell hole of death row
47:41before the court saw fit to end her
47:43ordeal now 21 other states plus DC
47:48already record interrogations this
47:50ranges from New Mexico to Ohio to North
47:53Carolina it is time for Arizona to join
47:56their ranks although many police
47:59agencies in Arizona do record some of
48:01their interrogations they're not
48:02required to it is time to require all
48:06police in Arizona to electronically
48:07record interrogations from start to
48:11finish it is the only way to prevent
48:14another Deborah milky case and it is the
48:17only way to prevent a second coming of
48:20detective Armando
48:23salate now as I said I practice law in
48:26Chicago which is the home of more
48:28documented false confessions than any
48:30other jurisdiction in the United
48:32States in 2003 after years of opposition
48:35from police and prosecutors the problem
48:38of false confessions LED our legislature
48:41to enact a law requiring police to
48:43electronically record all interrogations
48:45in homicide
48:47cases 10 years later police and
48:50prosecutors were so pleased with
48:52electronic recording because it made
48:54their cases stronger it helped them
48:57fight off frivolous claims of abuse and
49:01it built trust between the police and
49:03the
49:04community that they supported an
49:07expansion of the law so that all serious
49:09felonies would be electronically
49:11recorded during interrogation if we can
49:14get those kind of laws passed in
49:15Illinois you can do it here in
49:18Arizona let me close by saying you know
49:21if we're really angry that Justice took
49:24so long in this case if we really want
49:27to take action to make sure that next
49:29time Justice gets served I have the
49:32perfect
49:33solution ask your legislature to require
49:36police to get out the camera get out the
49:39smartphone and record those
49:41interrogations from start to finish that
49:44way next time we will not have to wait
49:4625 years for an answer
49:52[Applause]
49:57of the manle of responsibility for doing
50:03the things that that Laura and all of us
50:07have advocated here will fall in large
50:10measure to you and it will also fall to
50:14organizations like the
50:16ACLU and the Arizona attorneys for
50:20criminal uh justice and we have leaders
50:24of both of those organizations here with
50:26us today and I I would appreciate it if
50:30before we go to
50:33questioning we hear from you
50:43briefly
50:49I'm I have been personally honored to be
50:52a small part of this parous critically
50:55important effort to work with these
50:57Brant attorneys
50:59andage number of years back Wasing a
51:03break and some schools I was forced to
51:06write that confession issue and thetical
51:09importance of docen something that would
51:12seem pretty reasonable that there be a
51:15record and not allow
51:17someone not my P and but I know what she
51:21said it has been an honor it's a day
51:24that wor celebrating obvious should
51:27focus on that
51:29indication work that has been done I
51:32only with this that despite the price
51:35that has been taken the rav lives and
51:37soth uh that at some point in the future
51:40folks also focus on in the media the the
51:45absence of any price paid by the
51:47prosecutors involved and the importance
51:53of here and elsewhere thank you very
51:58[Applause]
52:01this is Kathy Brody my partner at Osborn
52:04madon and more importantly for today's
52:06purpose the the president of Arizona
52:09attorneys for criminal justice and
52:12organization of defense lawyers in this
52:14state that has been existence since
52:171983 thank you thank you Larry and
52:20Deborah uh Lori and Mike thank you for
52:22including Arizona attorneys for criminal
52:24justice in this very important day
52:27AJ shares your relief that Deborah
52:30milky's unjust prosecution has finally
52:33come to an end we also applaud the
52:35dedicated work of your legal team and
52:38the courageous decision of the Arizona
52:40court of appeals that found egregious
52:42prosecutorial misconduct in this case
52:45and disallowed her retrial and the
52:47decision last week of the Arizona
52:49Supreme Court to let that court of
52:50appeals decision stand we are proud that
52:53AJ was able to support you and stand by
52:56you as you were forced through this
52:58horrible Odyssey and we were thrilled to
53:00be able to honor your legal team in
53:02January with aac's appella Achievement
53:06Award as the Arizona State affiliate of
53:08the National Association of criminal
53:10defense lawyers and the only Statewide
53:12organization of public and private
53:14criminal defense attorneys part of AJ's
53:18mission is to assist criminal defendants
53:20and their lawyers as they fight for
53:21justice in the courts we did that in
53:23Deborah milky's case but it is is also
53:27part of AJ's mission to work on
53:29improving the criminal justice system as
53:31a whole so that the things that went
53:33wrong in Deborah mil's case will not
53:35happen
53:37again I hope that we and all those
53:40involved in Deborah milky's case can
53:42work together and use her case as a
53:45lesson and a catalyst for change in two
53:47areas mandating that police agencies
53:50record their
53:52interrogations and supporting
53:54prosecutors in complying with their
53:56obligation a s to disclose exculpatory
53:58information before trial and even after
54:01a criminal
54:03conviction all of us who are actors in
54:05the criminal justice system defense
54:07lawyers prosecutors and police officers
54:10should believe in keeping innocent
54:12people out of prison in Prosecuting and
54:15punishing Those who commit crimes and in
54:18doing so fairly and justly and in line
54:21with constitutional guarantees and
54:23protections one lesson from this case as
54:26Laura spoke about is that we should work
54:29together on mandating electronic
54:31recording of police interrogation
54:33Statewide in Arizona that is the
54:35direction that law enforcement is going
54:37to ensure Justice and Arizona shouldn't
54:39wait much longer to join this growing
54:41Trend over 20 States um by law or Court
54:45Action Now require electronic recording
54:47of interrogations and I believe the
54:50number is more than a thousand
54:51additional police agencies voluntarily
54:53record um their interrogations including
54:55a number in
54:56Iona so today I would invite the
54:59prosecutorial and law enforcement
55:01agencies in Arizona to join AJ in asking
55:05the Arizona legislature to mandate
55:07electronic recording of police
55:09interrogations throughout the state with
55:12this one step we could better preserve
55:14important evidence in criminal
55:16investigations and at the same time
55:18reduce false confessions and wrongful
55:22convictions the second lesson from this
55:24case is that we have to give prosecutors
55:27the tools and the support they need to
55:29comply with their legal and ethical
55:31obligations to disclose information
55:33favorable to the defense prosecutors
55:36have constitutional and ethical
55:38obligations to give exculpatory
55:40information to the defense throughout
55:42the life of a case even after conviction
55:45and this includes information about bad
55:48cops they also have an obligation to
55:50look for and learn about B bad cop
55:53information that's relevant to the case
55:55and apparently not all prosecutors know
55:57about this particular
56:00obligation many prosecutors offices
56:02across the country employ what is called
56:05open file Discovery a policy which is
56:08endorsed by the American Bar Association
56:11that promotes full and open disclosure
56:14of information to the defense before
56:16trial I want to ask today can we start
56:20discussions in Arizona about open file
56:22policies in prosecutor offices can we
56:26work together to make sure prosecutors
56:28can easily access information about bad
56:31cops and pass that information along to
56:33the defense I hope all of us who work in
56:36the criminal justice system can engage
56:39in these productive discussions toward
56:41what I know is our shared goal of
56:43providing justice for all who encounter
56:45our courts in Arizona thank you thank
56:48you thank
56:51you thank you
56:54K we will and entertain a few questions
56:58now let me say first though that that uh
57:02we we are not going to be addressing any
57:06questions uh today that deal with with
57:10Deborah milky's civil suit as you may
57:14know a civil suit has been filed uh
57:18these lawyers are not responsible for
57:21that case and we are not going to
57:24address that uh and in particular Lori
57:28vel's firm Joan Skelton and hoaky which
57:31has committed so much time and energy uh
57:35to this case and and to the work with
57:38Deborah will not be involved uh in that
57:41case in any in any way um as you're
57:45asking questions I will try to repeat
57:48them so that you all will have a good
57:51record uh unless you ask the question in
57:54German and I know that some of you do
57:56speak uh there isn't anyone in this room
57:59whose German is any worse than mine so
58:02uh but but I may have a difficult time
58:06uh with with some of the questions but
58:09with that we'd be happy to entertain a
58:12few
58:14Steve
58:22would so the question is if if if Amando
58:27saate was here today what would you say
58:31to
58:34him
58:39well I told you 26 years
58:43ago I had nothing to do with
58:46this I had nothing to do with
58:52this thank for addressing us today
58:56come to a conclusion as why
59:02believe so the a question is is have
59:06have you come to a conclusion today as
59:09to why your son was murdered I don't
59:12know that that's a a question you would
59:15want to answer but I I'll leave it to
59:17you and and Mike and Lori
59:20to
59:24well I have not come to a
59:27conclusion
59:29because we don't know what happened
59:32because there was not a proper
59:34investigation nobody the police the
59:40prosecution didn't bother to check to
59:43investigate it so there is I don't have
59:47a I don't
59:48know the right men are
59:54behinds I think the follow-up question
59:57was do you believe that the right to men
1:00:00are behind bars and is that a question
1:00:03you would want to answer
1:00:18today okay take that question
1:00:34Denver's asked me to address that
1:00:35question because it's it's fairly it's
1:00:38very complicated a lot of things because
1:00:40she has mixed feelings about there but
1:00:43definitely definitely somebody should be
1:00:46on death row of the two men that were
1:00:49there one or both and they should be
1:00:53there and they should be punished for
1:00:55such a horrific
1:01:07crime and based on
1:01:20what well
1:01:26derra let me okay see if I can reframe
1:01:30it I I think the the general nature of
1:01:32the the question is what do you have to
1:01:35say about what the prosecution thought
1:01:38was evidence that that might
1:01:40corroborate your guilt um and I and
1:01:44again I I'll leave it to you uh you're
1:01:46under no obligation here to to do
1:01:49anything other that then speak from your
1:01:50heart about things you care about so I
1:01:54the answer to that and this is in the
1:01:57briefs
1:01:59everywhere Christopher was murdered on a
1:02:02Saturday morning or on
1:02:05Saturday Friday night the night before I
1:02:08did
1:02:09laundry I was only aware of one gun that
1:02:13Jim had or
1:02:15owned and when I was sorting through all
1:02:18of the
1:02:19laundry I always dig through the pockets
1:02:22make sure the pockets are empty I found
1:02:25a box
1:02:28unop they were sealed of these
1:02:33bullets and instead of getting up and
1:02:35putting them where they
1:02:37belong I just shoved them in my purse
1:02:39which was right next to me on the
1:02:42couch put them away
1:02:44later I continued to sort out laundry I
1:02:48did the laundry that night and then the
1:02:51next day all of this happened clearly I
1:02:55forgot that they were in my purse that's
1:02:58the
1:03:00answer if I
1:03:02maybe there's a a lady back here who has
1:03:05if I first Larry can I just mention
1:03:07something too you know I always tell
1:03:10people do you really think that you
1:03:11would bring a purse knowingly with
1:03:14bullets that supposedly connect you to
1:03:17the crime to the police station where
1:03:20you don't even know you're going to be
1:03:21arrested in interrogation you you would
1:03:23bring that there I mean ser seriously
1:03:26she was doing her laundry and they were
1:03:29in Jim's jean pocket yes thank you
1:03:57I I'm not sure I heard all of that
1:03:59question but I but I think
1:04:05the
1:04:07yeah what are your feelings having
1:04:10having it's not happiness this is very
1:04:14this is relief yes but this is
1:04:18Bittersweet there's it's not
1:04:22happiness
1:04:24um
1:04:26Revenge I've never had a vengeful heart
1:04:29and I still
1:04:31don't so
1:04:36no
1:04:43do how do you respond to to your your
1:04:46ex-husband or to the state that that
1:04:48claims that that you still are guilty of
1:04:53murder I really don't want to say I just
1:04:57don't want to even go there um
1:05:02I the obvious speaks for
1:05:05itself
1:05:07so yes I I don't have any response to
1:05:11him yes Deborah you gave me an exclusive
1:05:14interview on probably the darkest day of
1:05:17your your life at least the way I saw it
1:05:19was the day before you were sentenced to
1:05:21death by Cheryl Hendrick's death in the
1:05:23gas chamber
1:05:25interview you talked to me for an hour
1:05:28and a half you gave me every answer that
1:05:30I asked the question for it was
1:05:33logical uh you were respectful there was
1:05:36an interesting interview the most
1:05:38interesting telling part was when you
1:05:40told me that you're going to have
1:05:43appeals and you have faith in the system
1:05:46that this would resolve favorably at
1:05:50some point did you hang on to this the
1:05:54entire 25 years tell me how this
1:05:58really your faith in this system how it
1:06:02maintained and how you maintain your
1:06:04sanity it wasn't so much faith in the
1:06:08system as a
1:06:11whole uh I just I well back then I was
1:06:15only 25 26 years old and naive about all
1:06:19of this stuff but uh I I just figured
1:06:23well somebody will see this and it'll be
1:06:27corrected they'll see that this is all
1:06:29wrong and it'll be
1:06:31corrected um and
1:06:34then as the years went on I learned how
1:06:38politicized the system is and
1:06:42then
1:06:43I came to the realization that not all
1:06:48judges not all not everybody has a
1:06:51political
1:06:52motive and so I just held without hope
1:06:56that some judge would would see it it
1:07:01you know and they wouldn't
1:07:03um what am I trying to say they're
1:07:07uh they would do the right
1:07:19thing I think the ab
1:07:22ofing these two men would
1:07:36is there something you get the community
1:07:39that would explain I know your job was
1:07:41to defend not but I think in the of
1:07:45explan why these guys did this people
1:07:49just can't get on why why would they go
1:07:52out and ex Young
1:07:56you have to have a
1:07:59sense that's an an excellent question
1:08:02it's one of the questions that Lori and
1:08:04I and Deborah we have been asking that
1:08:07question throughout the 15 years what
1:08:09really happened out there on that day
1:08:12who is really
1:08:14responsible why would this happen why
1:08:16would they want to kill this boy there's
1:08:18all kinds of and you and I have
1:08:19discussed it there are all kinds of
1:08:21different theories and Concepts some
1:08:23people think that it was Style
1:08:26that did it and that he did it because
1:08:29he wanted to get rid of Christopher
1:08:31because he had a romantic interest in
1:08:33Debra even that we know that was never
1:08:35reciprocated they had no romantic
1:08:38interest but that he wanted one we now
1:08:40know that styes had a really very bad
1:08:43background in sense of uh post-traumatic
1:08:46stress syndrome out of Vietnam he was
1:08:48disabled he had been involved in killing
1:08:51children in villages and things of that
1:08:52nature that all came out in his appeal
1:08:55process did something happen out there
1:08:58uh one of the things Deborah never
1:09:01wanted Christopher to be around is guns
1:09:03that was a real big issue that's how
1:09:06come she when she saw the bullets she
1:09:07had to get rid of them and made sure
1:09:10that Christoph wasn't around that and
1:09:11had chastised styes for that she was
1:09:13getting ready to move out had found her
1:09:15own apartment and was ready to go with
1:09:18Christopher and live was that something
1:09:20that maybe precipitated something in sty
1:09:22she's going to leave here and be gone
1:09:25and therefore you know if Christopher is
1:09:27gone maybe she'll stay maybe that's some
1:09:29kind of irrational thinking or was it
1:09:32Scott Scott is also basically a mental
1:09:36[ __ ] in many many ways uh he probably
1:09:39only friend he had was Styers Deborah
1:09:42did not want Scott around she told styes
1:09:45that she did not want Scott there as a
1:09:47matter of fact on the day that they took
1:09:51Christopher or stus did when he said he
1:09:53was going to take him the store he then
1:09:54went and met Scott so scottt could go
1:09:56along and why that happened you know
1:09:59what was that all about uh and would if
1:10:03Scott was he so upset of the
1:10:06relationship that Styers had with
1:10:09Christopher and with de that he felt
1:10:12that if he needed to get rid of the
1:10:14child you know I've gone back and forth
1:10:17all over the
1:10:18questions a lot of people say it was
1:10:20Styers and I kind of lean more that it
1:10:23might have been Scott was the one one
1:10:25that did it just know it was a brutal
1:10:28horrible killing of a four-year-old boy
1:10:30honestly don't have an idea I really
1:10:32don't and I wish I did no but you know
1:10:35but you see the different facts the ones
1:10:38I'm talking about and the different
1:10:39people you know something along those
1:10:42lines is what triggered it I've also
1:10:45thought it could have been an accident
1:10:47they tried to cover it up and then by
1:10:49covering it up it ended up putting them
1:10:51in a situation where it was homicide but
1:10:53three bullet holes in the back of the
1:10:55head doesn't make it an accident it was
1:10:57deliberately
1:11:04done what did I say what
1:11:16I you are one of the most despicable
1:11:19characters that I have ever
1:11:22met you have not only destroyed a life
1:11:28you've destroyed many lives and what's
1:11:30worse is you've tarnished a system you
1:11:33have made we look like we have an unjust
1:11:36system and I'm proud of our system of
1:11:38justice when it works right when there
1:11:41are people like you and it with that
1:11:42kind of power and it's abused is
1:11:46Despicable that's what I'd
1:11:50say I actually think we're we're just
1:11:52about out of time we have time for Poli
1:11:55one or two more questions here let me
1:11:57just ask somebody who hasn't had a
1:11:59chance to ask a question
1:12:04yet where do you see the next steps
1:12:09being where where do you want to go from
1:12:12here
1:12:17actually like I said
1:12:20earlier there's I don't feel happiness I
1:12:24just it's a relief
1:12:27yes
1:12:29the the victory is
1:12:34Bittersweet I my son's gone my mother's
1:12:38gone
1:12:39and so I just asked a question now what
1:12:42so I really don't
1:12:44know I don't know all I can do is take
1:12:47one day at a
1:12:52time a a mic and
1:12:55laori and Deborah do you have any
1:12:57closing uh thoughts you want to share
1:13:01before we bring this to an end I I would
1:13:04like to say something okay I
1:13:07please the the lawyers were talking
1:13:09about this seriousness of recording and
1:13:12you know and then getting a
1:13:15bill it I didn't have a criminal record
1:13:18at all I'd never been in trouble with
1:13:20the police ever
1:13:27I didn't break the
1:13:29law I never thought in a million years I
1:13:32would see the inside of a jail but I
1:13:37did it it happened to me and really it
1:13:41can happen to any one of you it really
1:13:46can so these people with
1:13:50power they shouldn't be allowed to abuse
1:13:52it
1:13:56maybe someday we'll be able to do Tom
1:13:59thank you all for coming
1:14:28all right everyone that is a wrap on
1:14:30that uh fairly lengthy press conference
1:14:32we were watching for an hour and 15
1:14:35minutes as Deborah milky and her lawyers
1:14:38spoke to the media for the first time
1:14:40really publicly addressing the media
1:14:42since uh Deborah milky got off death row
1:14:45had her uh conviction overturned uh if
1:14:48we had any more information or updates
1:14:50we will bring that to you live here on
1:14:52news now as I promised earlier we will
1:14:54be bringing you uh that conversation
1:14:56that uh press conference between the
1:14:59president of the United States Barack
1:15:00Obama and the president of Afghanistan
1:15:03that event was going on simultaneously
1:15:05as this Deborah milky event was going on
1:15:07so we made sure to roll on it record it
1:15:09so we could play it back for you guys
1:15:10and just a second I see some video uh
1:15:13I'm going to go back to the Milky event
1:15:14because I still see some video rolling
1:15:16not sure what's going on here but uh
1:15:18let's uh just continue to watch and see
1:15:20if anything happens
1:15:26great give me 25 seconds we'll be good
1:15:28to
1:15:36go test

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