By BOB CHRISTIE

The Associated Press

PHOENIX —


An Arizona woman who has spent more than two decades on death row awaited her release Friday, a day after a judge ruled that there was no direct evidence linking her to her son's death other than a purported confession to a detective whose honesty has been questioned.

Debra Milke has not been exonerated, but a judge granted her a $250,000 bond Thursday, meaning she could go free while preparing for a new trial in the case that made her one of Arizona's most reviled inmates.

Milke was convicted in the death of her 4-year-old son, Christopher, who was allegedly killed for a $5,000 insurance payout. His mother was accused of dressing the boy in his favorite outfit in December 1989 and telling him he was going to see Santa Claus at a mall before handing him over to two men who took the child into the desert and shot him. She has been imprisoned since 1990.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Milke would probably be released Friday. But the exact timing remained unclear at midday

ATLANTA — A Georgia teacher found a loaded handgun in the book bag of a 4-year-old male pre-kindergarten student, authorities said on Wednesday.

Another student alerted the teacher on Tuesday after the 4-year-old told a classmate that he had brought a gun to school, said Anthony Aikens, principal of Jordan Hill Elementary School in Griffin, south of Atlanta.

"That is shockingly young for this to happen," Aikens said. "We've never had anything like that happen here."

Authorities called police and the student's parents, Aikens said. Disciplinary action was taken against the student, but Aikens declined to provide details.

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

One of the teens charged with beating to death a World War II veteran allegedly claimed he was buying crack cocaine from the 88-year-old and the transaction turned violent — but cops said there is no evidence to support that.

The allegation was denounced as bizarre by victim Delbert “Shorty” Belton’s family and even dismissed by the defense lawyer for the other teen accused in the Spokane, Wash., case, which has drawn national attention.

“That’s a bunch of crock,” daughter-in-law Barbara Belton told NBC News on Tuesday afternoon after suspect Kenan Adams-Kinard made his first court appearance to be charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery.

“He was a little senile, a little eccentric, but he was not into drugs,” she said, accusing the teen of concocting a self-serving story that would make the victim seem less sympathetic.