The case against an Arizona woman who spent more than two decades on death row in the murder of her 4-year-old son has been dealt a severe blow. 
 
A judge on Wednesday said a former detective does not have to testify at Debra Milke’s retrial. Without Detective Armando Saldate’s testimony about the confession he said Milke made to him, it cannot be used as evidence at her retrial.

Saldate has been accused of lying under oath in other cases and fears prosecution in them, should defense attorneys bring that up to hurt his credibility during Milke’s retrial.

The alleged confession, which was not recorded, was used to convict Milke of having two men shoot her son to death in 1989. She spent 24 years on death row.  An appeals court overturned her conviction in March, and she is free on bond pending a possible 2015 retrial.