An Arizona woman who spent 22 years on death row in her son's killing before her conviction was thrown out has suffered a setback in her lawsuit that alleges she was wrongfully convicted based on a fabricated confession.
A judge on Friday dismissed part of Debra Milke's lawsuit that alleged she was maliciously prosecuted in the 1989 death of her 4-year-old son Christopher.
U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver concluded Milke didn't meet a requirement in making such a claim that her criminal case was resolved in her favor.
Silver says an appeals court that overturned Milke's conviction and cast doubt about the confession never concluded that she was innocent.
Milke's conviction was reversed in 2013 because prosecutors failed to disclose a history of misconduct by the case's investigator.
