Putting death row in the rear view mirror: Debra Milke finds her purpose as a ‘survivor’

By: Michael Kiefer

Outlets: Arizona Mirror

Published: August 31, 2026

Words: 4,184

Last Updated: 1 week, 5 days ago

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Thirteen years after she was released from Death Row, Debra Milke was in Phoenix to comfort a friend who is ill.

Milke, 62, had been gone for a long while, trying to escape what her therapist called the source of her pain: Arizona. And though she still feels that drag of depression every day when she wakes up, she forces herself to look to the future, not the past.

“Why do you think the windshield …

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