Jim Styers
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Jim Styers’ story is the same as Debra Milke’s except that he was Debra’s roommate and convicted of being a part of the actual murder of four year old Christopher. However, beyond a few lines from letters sent to Debra such as “Christopher was behind me and Roger behind him” which place him at the scene, there is nothing trustworthy to connect Jim to the murder itself. Actually, the entire story is a jumbled mess that left Jim condemned to death row, though an incomplete investigation never so much as conclusively established whether Jim or Roger Scott actually shot the child.
Jim said from the start that he had nothing to do with conspiring to kill Christopher or the execution, and there is nothing to indicate that it would make sense that he did, however, Chris was in Debra’s car with him when he disappeared and was killed, and Jim pulled the trigger according to Roger Scott who was immediately offered a plea deal of life in exchange for his testimony against Jim and Debra. Of course, with the confession obtained by Detective Armando Saldate, Scott is portrayed as a scared by-stander who cannot prevent what is occurring which makes him as credible as possible on the stand, and notably hurt Jim and Debra’s defense.
Incredibly, in an investigation that ultimately led to three people condemned to death, detectives never ran routine tests that could have distinguished whether Scott or Styers pulled the trigger. Scott was merely allowed to portray himself as the unwilling participant and the other two never stood a chance, and only ended up the row, because he made the decision to turn down the deal and take his chances in court. Thus, Debra and Jim were sentenced to death on his story alone, though he is the most likely killer, and a statement from a man who shared a cell with him includes Scott‘s confessing to being angry and killing the child.
“I could never do anything to hurt you or Christopher. Roger did it behind my back,” Jim wrote to Debra not long after the murder.” At another point he adds, “I thought Mark[ Debra’s ex-husband] and Roger had something going together for a long time but don’t know how to prove it. With the grace of God Mark might prove it himself. Yes, I remember the day we went to court and the remark that you wasn’t worth killing to get Chris. I think they believe you and I will take most of the punishment. And Roger will get a little and they will be scott free. It’s very possible the house fire was done by Mark. I agree with you that Mark is digging his own grave.”
That Mark was jealous of the arrangement between Jim and Debra would seem no secret, with his having stalked the apartment and caused enough problems for the courts to intervene. Also, Jim revealed in his letters is that he believes he loved Debra far more than he had thought which does not seem so strange in light of the circumstances. When Debra was trying to get away from her ex-husband to start her life over, Jim who was a Vietnam vet scrapping by on his disability had needed a roommate. She moved into his apartment, with Chris who was four years old and Jim had children of his own including custody of a young daughter. They were only friends, but suddenly they were in effect a perfect little family, sharing the responsibilities of their children and home.
Debra worked and Jim cared for Christopher while she did. Suddenly, he was relieved of the worry of his bills, had company and his young daughter had a playmate. Debra was able to work without concern for Chris and had a descent place to live until she could make other arrangements. Except for Mark stalking Debra including watching the apartment which was what led them to court and a restraining order issued against Mark in October, the arrangement was happy enough for them all, with Jim and Debra acting responsibly and there being no sign of either having a problem with the children.
As attested to in a police report of an interview a neighbor, Mr. Chula, believed Jim to be a good father figure for both children with the officer recording, “He said that Jim was a very good father to his daughter Wendy, who he had legal custody of. He watched Christopher during the day when Debra went to work, and he was also very patient with him, taking good care of him. Jim never spanked Christopher, but would talk to Christopher about what he had done wrong, and then either put him in the corner or sent him to his room for discipline…”
Many others saw a far different man in Jim Styers than that which Noel Levy with the help of Scott portrayed at trial. Having a good relationship, with his former girlfriend, with whom he shared a child, she described him as “a caring and reliable person.” Jim also assured their daughter was cared for and was a devoted father figure in her life. Debra’s sister, Sandra Pickinpaugh, described him as “never able to say no to anybody.”
“Jim just does numerous things for people. He’s just that kind of person. He would call and say I’ll be over in ten minutes, I’m right around the corner and show up two hours later. You now it was because he saw a lady on the highway with her car. You know, or somebody needed a ride somewhere,” she told police.
Her account also fits with the reports by other neighbors that he was a good person, wonderful with children, and at times kept his neighbors’ children for his daughter to have playmates. Jim by all accounts was a very likeable guy, and it seems possible that his being easily persuaded to do things for others may have led to him ending up condemned to die.
In fact, the whole story begins with Jim and Scott as former military buddies, and Jim in an on and off relationship with Scott between wives and girlfriends. During the times they associated, Jim was often helping Scott, and during the time of the murder Jim got him to places that he wanted or needed to go including to the VA for their visits. Scott was said to come by the apartment several times a week. Plus, though they would sometimes go for long periods without contact, their time together included going to the desert for target practice, so guns were a part of it long before the child was murdered.
Figuring out what actually happened the day of the murder becomes complicated, and must begin with the details of the relationship between the two, and the addition of Debra and Christopher into the scenario. Jim and Scott tell different stories and Jim is certainly lying in order to distance himself from the murder at points. Yet, scattered throughout Debra’s website are the logical conclusions drawn from going through their interrogations, testimony, Jim’s letters, etc. and as is shown there, Jim seems to have merely been caught in a relationship with a man who associated with Debra’s ex-husband and who he knew could become volatile when drinking, but someone he never dreamed would go so far as killing a child.
To be certain, Jim was careless and put Christopher’s life in harms way when the child was in his care, but there is nothing other than Scott’s clearly prompted and coerced story to establish more than Jim unwittingly took Christopher Milke to the place of his murder. With Saldate fishing for a story that implicated Debra Milke and prompted headlines favorable to him, he took over Scott’s interrogation and there was no longer any possibility that the detectives would even consider that Scott had acted on his own or at the request of someone other than Debra and Jim. Though he had before went so far as taking Debra’s car from Jim without permission, Scott through Saldate‘s incredible powers of persuasion suddenly became the star witness against both Debra and Jim. Jim was portrayed as a child murdering monster. Then, after Saldate assuring Scott that they were about to go to the home of his elderly, sick mother and ransack the place looking for evidence, , in route to the murder scene, the plot allegedly grew to include Debra as the mastermind. However, with that statement enough for Saldate to immediately declare Debra a suspect, for some reason a second officer in the car failed to note the crucial detail in his report of the ride.
From that point, with Scott assured that he would not face death if he offered testimony, the investigation ended with the arrests of the three which allegedly cleared the case. There was no further inquiry despite the lack of substantial facts, Saldate and Levy became heroes in the press for persecuting the killer Mom, and went to court with Saldate the star on the stand.
Of course, as usual, Saldate’s version was heavy on dishonest tactics and short on reason, but the jury would never be presented those possibilities. Instead, they heard from Scott that Jim hated Christopher and remarked that the child “had to go,” though the fact that Debra had already obtained a lease on another apartment and only remained at Jim’s to give him time to find another roommate was never brought up. Scott’s story went on to include the conspiracy theory that revolved around Debra seeing profit in a five thousand dollar life insurance policy after giving five hundred to Scott and Styers and then left paying for the expense of a funeral of her child which ultimately fell to the grandparents after her arrest.
The scenario actually defied all reason, with it coming long after Scott’s original versions, and at first mentioning neither Jim nor Debra. Then, he he laid the murder off on Jim, as claiming that he had been dropped off at the mall while Jim went to commit the murder, because he wanted to be rid of the boy. Throughout these supposed lies, there is no mention of Debra whatsoever, and only a much later a final version includes the conspiracy theory.
With a few never before mentioned details added such as Debra had went to the murder scene with Jim and Scott during the planning of the murder, and that Christopher was hated and being abused, the prosecution went forward based on the alleged hatred of Jim and Debra for the child, and without any contrary evidence considered, though Saldate‘s own reports include:
“After the scene was located with ROGER SCOTT's help, the scene was secured. DET. RUSS DAVIS and DET. JIM HOUSE conducted the scene investigation which concluded that the victim had been either escorted or carried out to a wash approximately 40 yards west of 99 Avenue and there he was shot three times in the back of the head.There was no indication of any abuse on the victim and no other serious injuries were observed.”
But then, among the other blatant lies told by Saldate, though it is absolute fiction with not a single statement or other fact confirming the allegation Armando he testified before the Grand Jury:
That's correct. The plan was to take the child to this location where they had already been. They had been to this location previously, checked out the location, found that it was a good location, checked out the time element from that location to Metrocenter to see if they would have enough time to get there while the stores were still open, while the stores were still busy, and the plan was to take the child to that location, kill it and then go to Metrocenter and claim that the child had disappeared as they did.
It is actually interesting how Jim and Debra were convicted based on their alleged ill feelings toward Christopher, as reported by Scott who is himself described as not such a nice guy. Rather, he is referred to as “creepy and weird” by a coworker of Debra’s, and his neighbors described him a the sort of person who confronted a neighborhood boy who walked by with a flashlight one night, as he accused the child of intentionally shining it through a window and into his eyes. Jim also spoke of having to take a gun from Scott, when Scott was drunk threatening to shoot his wife. Notably, the possibility that Scott held the gun on Jim in the desert is also raised, but with the detectives not wanting a conflicting story told, the number of bullets actually missing from the ammo box and the number of extra shots fired according to neighbors who heard them was among the things left to question by an overeager detective and prosecutor.
I actually laughed , as reading one of Saldate’s reports and finding the statement:
“I then explained to ROGER that I was not going to look for someone that did not exist and that I know it was difficult on him, that he was going to have to tell me the truth. ROGER then began moving his head in an up and down motion indicating that he would.”
In Eldon’s case file he explains to the codefendant just hours before he confronts Scott that he will not tolerate lies and then later when he and another detective blatantly prompt the story of a subsequent crime, the codefendant is “moving his head in an up and down motion indicating that he would” tell Saldate the story. With the murders taking place on the same day, he has two suspects who begin by lying and then suddenly are truthful beyond any skepticism, and who both simply cave and nod in response to his asking them if they tell truthful stories after his simply warning that he will accept no less.
Saldate’s report goes on to include from a twelve hour interrogation:
ROGER then told me that I was right and that PHIL did not exist. He said the only reason he made up PHIL was because he did not want to get involved after JIM told him that CHRIS was missing. I then asked ROGER if he had accompanied CHRIS and JIM to the mall and he told me that he had. He said that JIM parked the car outside Sears and that the three of them walked into the store. He said he stopped momentarily at the tools and before he knew it, JIM and CHRIS had walked away. ROGER then looked up and could see his friend JIM walking ahead of him but since there was a large crowd he could not get to JIM before he lost them. He looked for JIM inside Sears for some time and then decided to go into the mall area. He said he did not see JIM again until a little bit after 3:00 PM when JIM told him that CHRIS was missing. At that time he told JIM that he did not want to be involved because he had to get home to take care of his mother. ROGER then told me that he understood because he lied about PHIL that I probably would not believe anything he had to say. ROGER did say that a PHIL does exist, however, he is an elderly man who lives near his home and has colon cancer.
I then told ROGER that I knew that CHRIS was dead and that sooner or later he would have to tell me the truth. I told him that I strongly believed that he was involved in CHRIS' disappearance but ROGER continued to deny it. ROGER said that the only reason I thought he was involved was because he lied about PHIL. We continued to talk and I told ROGER that sooner or later, he would have to tell me what occurred.
I told him that I thought he was not a cold blooded killer and that I was sure that his conscience would not let him continue to lie. ROGER, however, continued to deny knowing anything about CHRIS' appearance and continued to say that he, JIM and CHRIS arrived at Sears together until he lost track of JIM and CHRIS. At approximately 1338 hrs, I told ROGER that I was going to leave him alone in the room for several minutes and that I would be back to continue our conversation.
At approximately 1352 hrs, I returned to the interview room by myself and continued the interview. ROGER and I spoke about his past and his current responsibilities with his mother. He also told me that he had other responsibilities with neighbors that he also took care of. We spoke about his state of unemployment, several personal areas, about his life. I continued to tell him that it was important for him to tell me the truth. ROGER kept denying that he had any involvement in the disappearance of CHRIS and kept telling me that the only reason I believed he was involved was because he had lied initially about PHIL. I then pointed out to ROGER that JIM had told security persons initially that he and CHRIS were by themselves and that did not correspond with his story about telling JIM that he did not want to get involved until 3:00 PM. ROGER said he could not explain that, only to say that JIM was probably trying to protect him on his own. I told ROGER that we all knew that CHRIS was already dead and that finding his body was not as important as him telling me the truth. ROGER continued to deny any involvement in CHRIS' disappearance.
At approximately 1505 hrs, I told ROGER that I would again leave him alone with his conscience, but that I would return in a few minutes to continue our conversation. I told him that when I returned we were only going to talk about the truth about what actually happened and that I was not going to listen to any more of his denials which I knew were lies. ROGER then moved his head in an up and down motion indicating that he understood. I then left the room.
At approximately 1535 hrs, I again contacted ROGER and ROGER asked for cigarettes and a pop. I told him that I would get that for him in a few minutes but that it was necessary for him to tell me the entire truth and that I was not going to tolerate him telling me any more lies. I also told ROGER that it was my belief that he knew where CHRIS' body was and the least he could do was to tell us so we could recover it. ROGER then began moving his head from side to side, indicating no, but would not respond out loud. I told ROGER that we were going to send officers to his home to speak with his mother and he immediately responded that it would kill her. I told him it was going to be necessary since he continued to lie about his involvement and we needed to verify certain things.
ROGER again asked for a pack of cigarettes and a Mountain Dew which was obtained for him. I continued to tell ROGER that I was there to get the truth and ROGER initially told me that he would tell me everything I wanted to know. I asked ROGER if he knew where the body of CHRIS was at and he said he did. I asked him if CHRIS was dead and ROGER responded "JIM killed him."
ROGER then told me that he didn't think JIM was going to do it and that he had talked him out of it several times. ROGER then said that CHRIS' body was in a wash in the area of 99 Avenue and Jomax Road.
ROGER then told me that JIM had never liked the kid and he said that he didn't think that JIM would go through with it.
He said that he and JIM had gone out on several occasions with the intentions of killing the kid but that he would always talk JIM out of it because he would usually come up with the excuse that there were too many people around. ROGER then told me that CHRIS had never made it to the Metro Center but that he and JIM after killing CHRIS did go to Metro Center to create an alibi. ROGER said that they had spoken about this story several times but that he had told JIM that he did not want anything to do with building a story but would go along with JIM'S story because he felt JIM knew more about that kind of stuff.
ROGER said that he had been telling the truth about going to the different locations and taking CHRIS for pizza. He said after the pizza that he and JIM drove to a location which they had been at before and had pre-selected as the location where they were going to kill CHRIS.
He then described the location as 99 Avenue and Jomax Road in a wash that JIM picked out. ROGER said that he would direct us to that location and would show us where the wash was. I then asked ROGER how JIM killed CHRIS and he said that he had shot him.
ROGER then explained that JIM had a .22 caliber revolver, 6 shot, which he took out with him. He said he parked his car along the roadway on 99 Avenue and that JIM and CHRIS got out of the car and walked back into the wash. He said JIM had previously told him that he was going to leave him near the road because he wanted him found right away. ROGER said that he then drove away, then made a U-turn and came back and that JIM was supposed to be waiting by the roadside. ROGER said that he did not hear any shots and did not see JIM. He continued past the wash, waited just north of the wash, but again did not see JIM. He said all the windows of the car were down but still he could not hear any shots. He then made a U-turn, headed southbound and pulled along the roadway at the opening of the wash. He said he then began to hit his horn very lightly because he did not want to attract attention. ROGER said he still did not hear any shots nor did he see JIM. He then drove further south, got out of the car and began to walk towards the wash, still not hearing or seeing anything. ROGER said he changed his mind and walked back to the car and again made another U-turn, headed northbound and again began to use his horn very lightly.
He still did not see anything. He then parked his vehicle again northbound across the road and headed into the northern section of the wash and then he heard three shots. He said a short time later, he saw JIM walking out of the wash on the south side towards the roadway. He said he then walked back to the car, made a U-turn and headed southbound and saw JIM with his thumb out as if he was hitchhiking. He then picked up JIM and JIM immediately told him that he had shot CHRIS three times in the head.
ROGER then became concerned and said he knew that he was in serious trouble but he was not going to be held responsible for killing CHRIS because he did not do that. I asked ROGER if he knew where the gun was at and ROGER paused and then said that JIM gave him the gun to get rid of it but that he had not. He said that JIM gave him the gun initially and told him to get rid of it but that JIM also told him that he could keep it if he wanted it. ROGER said he kept the gun and that it is in his closet at his home.
ROGER then began telling me that he applied for Social Security but had been refused. He then mentioned that he had gone to an attorney who he thought was free but later tried to charge him $250.00 before he would file a case. ROGER said he only went with JIM because he needed the $250.00 to file the Social Security case. ROGER then mentioned that CHRIS was supposed to have a $5000 life insurance policy and that JIM told him that he would give him $250.00 if he was to help him. I then asked ROGER if he would show us where the body was at and he agreed.
DET. MILLS and myself then took ROGER from the main Station and headed towards the area of 99 Avenue and Jomax Road where he said the body was at. Just after leaving the main station, ROGER said if he could tell us some more while he was in the car or would we rather wait until we returned and I suggested that he go ahead and tell us. ROGER then said that we probably felt that he and JIM were the only bad ones in this situation but that he was going to tell us something about the baby's mother, ROGER went on and said that the baby's mother knew all about the killing and in fact the only reason that CHRIS was killed was because the mother wanted it done.
During the interview of ROGER, he indicated that the three empty shell casings and three live rounds were thrown out of the car by JIM and he believed they were in the area between 99 Avenue and 83 Avenue on the south side of Union Hills. On 12/5/89 a search team was taken to that area and the three expended shells along with one live round was found. ROGER also indicated that the weapon used in the murder was at his home and it was later recovered by virtue of a search warrant.
This was the story that led to the arrest of Jim and Debra and the end of the investigation promptly afterward. It is the only proof of a conspiracy and the only evidence that Jim killed Christopher. Notably, there was nothing to substantiate Scott’s story and the other evidence actually indicates that he was lying though Saldate and Levy used his account at face value.
Nevertheless, while Scott claims to have not heard any shots, neighbors heard at least five, by some accounts seven or more, but did not report hearing a car horn. Also, the story of taking Christopher for pizza not only does not make any sense considering that the plan was supposed to be to kill him for a very small amount of money to begin with. It not only seems like an unnecessary act, but though police tried they could find no one who recalled Christopher being at the pizza parlor, nor did the autopsy confirm the claim. Then, Roger easily lead them to the exact spot where Chris was covered with brush and fairly well hidden according to police reports which is contrary to Saldate’s notation that Jim and Debra wanted the body discovered quickly to collect the insurance. Plus, the gun was found at Scott’s place and he recalled well enough where “Jim” had allegedly thrown the .22 shell casings out to allow them to find all three alongside the roadway.
Roger Scott was the one with knowledge of the crime indicating that he was far more than a by-stander. He was a known associate of Mark Milke whom Jim and Debra had testified against only a few weeks prior to the murder in order to obtain a restraining order, and who had threatened to kidnal his son. Plus, Scott obviously either lied beyond the point that Saldate alleges or Saldate added details to his story.
The report also fails to include pertinent information such as Scott had tried to borrow the two-hundred and fifty dollars from Debra and then from Jim who needed his money to buy Christmas gifts for his children and Christopher. He was upset that they would not help him, and he did not get along with Debra to begin with. Thus, not only was he prevented from just dropping by the apartment when she was home, but during the day Jim cared for Christopher and was restrained by Debra’s wish, and according to Mark Milke his rule also that they did not want Christopher with Jim and Scott when they went to the desert to shoot guns. Debra and Christopher cramped Scott and he made no secret of his contempt for either of them.
Still, Scott’s friendship with Jim gave him access to the apartment where Debra’s things were including the insurance papers that she had went over with Jim after accepting her new job with the insurance company. He could have discovered the policy lying around somewhere or even went into Debra’s room while Jim was in the shower or preoccupied with the children to know of its existence. Or with detectives at the apartment before they questioned Scott and blatantly prompting the codefendant in Eldon’s case just a few hours prior, it is very possible Saldate not only knew of the policy but added the insurance as motive himself. Thus, if Scott whose life consisted primarily of caring for his elderly mother and offered little hope beyond decided to get even, and the statements by Jim that offers the possibility that Scott had held the gun on him and that he shot Christopher without Jim expecting it are considered - a situation that far better fits the evidence becomes a possibility.
First, it is certain that Jim also lied, but his lies can be put into the context of he has just unwittingly allowed the murder of a child that he cared for, the child of a woman that he feels he is in love with. Plus, the only scenario that makes sense is that rather than going to the mall that morning as planned, Jim had first gone by Scott’s and let himself be talked into going to the desert to shoot the new gun that he had recently purchased for Scott, ad he did so despite Christopher being in the car. If this was the case, he had broken a promise to Debra and her child was dead.
Though it will seem far fetched to some, Debra’s site discusses this as an alternative to Scott’s coerced story and it is logical and fit’s the evidence. It is known that Jim was easily persuaded to do things, and that Scott was feeling left out with Debra and Christopher so much a part of Jim’s life. It would not have been difficult for him to convince Jim to just let him go to the desert to shoot the gun a few times before they went on to the mall. Jim says that with his passing time before he could pick up his daughter they started out to look at the gliders which he occasionally did with the children, and Scott convinced him to go to the murder site instead. Once they were there, neighbors heard more than the three shots that killed Christopher fired, with more than one confirming it, and fifteen bullets had been removed from the ammo box. Thus, it seems that after a few rounds fired they started back to the car, with the boy walking between the two men. If at that point, Scott shot Christopher, Jim would have been horrified and facing Scott who still held a loaded gun, as he testified to at his trial.
As well, Jim’s entire life had been drastically altered, with the assurance being that he would not only be arrested for the boy’s murder, but Debra would hate him for the loss of her child. As Debra’s website points out, Jim’s lies all seem more designed to hide the fact that he had simply went along with going to shoot the gun, with Chris in the car than it seems designed to distance him from the scene. This includes his at one point claiming the gun was in the glove box, because he was taking it by to drop it off with Scott, but that it had never been taken out with Scott outside waiting and ready to go which according to a neighbor is untrue. He also states they had only went to the desert to pass time until he picked up his daughter, and he was uncertain how Scott had got the gun. Jim actually admitted to being in the desert, but did everything he could to keep from admitting that he had want against Debra’s wishes, and his clearly irresponsible decision to take the child along.
This scenario even removes the inane assertions such as Debra and Jim preplanned a murder, when Jim had spoken to his girlfriend several days before about picking his daughter up early on the day Christopher was killed, and his agreeing to get her later which proves the plan could not have been so precise at least. It is also patently obvious that it was entirely unnecessary to include Scott in such a plan when Debra did not trust him and Jim knew him to be mentally unbalanced.
Scott was not even a logical partner for a conspiracy to commit murder, and Christopher was a four year old boy who would have went unhesitatingly with Jim to his death. Jim also owned two guns, and had just been in possession of the one he gave to Scott, making a third party an entirely unnecessary risk. Even Scott’s assertion that he left the story they would tell to Jim, because he expected Jim to be better at it seems inane, because as the reports bare out Jim was not good at concealing his guilty conscience at all. In fact, the first officer to speak to him felt that he was not being truthful. It is evident that he was not calculated enough to conceal his emotions, and he even seems to want to be caught, with his soon bringing up Scott’s name in conversation with an officer which caused his charade to begin to immediately fall apart.
If one looks at all of the evidence, there is nothing to suggest that either Jim or Debra would for any reason want to get rid of Christopher. He was always well dressed, well fed and happy according to the observations of those outside the family who Saldate blatantly lied to in order to turn them against Debra. According to witnesses she openly displayed affection for her son and he reciprocated, and that she would kill a child for what would gave been very little if anything left when she had just got a job that was about to leave her in the place that young people work for years to get to is certainly an ridiculous theory. But then, Saldate and Levy also ignored that Jim would have had to be willing to chance the loss of his relationships with his own children who he adored for the gain of two-hundred and fifty dollars, with his already knowing that he and Debra were going their separate ways and his planning to move to Wyoming after talking to his estranged but still legal wife about the idea.
Nothing involved in the prosecution of Jim and Debra makes sense, nor does it fit the available evidence. Jim was convicted, though there is not a shred of evidence beyond Scott’s story to connect him to the murder. Not even the shell casings that he is alleged to have tossed could be connected to the murder, and there was not a trace of physical evidence suggesting that he pulled the trigger. Added to this, Scott during his time in jail just after the murder expressed his certainty that he would receive a light sentence as a result of his previous hospitalization for mental illness. He actually making it seem that he was simply allowed to destroy the lives of two people who felt had given him offense only to find the prosecutor who used him more than willing to put him to death despite his obvious mental problems.
There was no justice in these cases. There was no actual attempt to establish the truth after an actual investigation. There was the effort to cover up pertinent facts that went against Scott’s tale, intentional perjury, and an inquiry stopped short to prevent the possibility that the truth would come out. The only thing that makes less sense than condemning two people to death on such dubious evidence is that the state of Arizona will now go forward with the executions of both Jim and Debra, though common-sense and logic say that they were not involved with the murder. Rather, the evidence indicates that Jim watched Scott turn his and Debra’s lives into an unrelenting nightmare. He was helpless to stop it, and then tried to save himself from the arrest that he was certain would come, as attempting to also prevent Debra from knowing that he had allowed deadly harm to come to her child.
