From Death Penalty Information Center:
- - - - -
ANOTHER INMATE EXONERATED FROM DEATH ROW AS DNA EVIDENCE LEADS TEXAS TO DROP CHARGES
Michael Blair's Exoneration Brings Innocence List Total to 130
WASHINGTON, DC - A Collin County court in Texas has dismissed capital murder
charges against Michael Blair who had been on death row for the 1993 murder of
Ashley Estell. After more than a decade of legal appeals and requests for
DNA testing, the hair evidence that had been used to convict Blair was shown
to be mistaken. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that no reasonable
jury would convict Blair based on the existing evidence.
The District Attorney's office filed a motion to dismiss the charges on August
25 stating, "It has been determined that this case should be dismissed in the
interest of justice so that the offense charged in the indictment can be
further investigated." The Plano Police Department is now reinvestigating the
15-year-old case to find the true killer. The DNA evidence that cleared Blair
indicates that another man, now deceased, is a plausible suspect in the girl's
death. Referred to only as "Suspect 4" in court documents, this possible
perpetrator showed an obsession with the victim and bought a grave plot as
close as he could get next to her resting place. He has been deceased for at
least 10 years.
The case was made famous in the mid-1990's by a series of legal reforms known
as "Ashley's Laws." Named after the victim Ashley Estell, these laws created
longer prison sentences and lifetime sex offender registration requirements.
"This case demonstrates that innocent people still face a significant risk of
execution in this country," said Richard Dieter, Executive Director of the
Death Penalty Information Center. "For every nine people executed, we find
one person on death row who should never have been convicted."
According to DPIC's innocence list, Blair is the fourth person to be
exonerated from death row in 2008 and the ninth in Texas since the death
penalty was reinstated. His case brings the total number of exonerations from
death row to 130 since 1973. Blair remains in prison on other charges.
DPIC's innocence list consists of those former death row inmates who have been
acquitted of all charges related to the crime that placed them on death row,
who have had all charges related to the crime that placed them on death row
dismissed by the prosecution, or who have been granted a complete pardon based
on evidence of innocence.
This dismissal comes on the heels of a statement by Dallas County District
Attorney Craig Watkins that he will re-examine nearly 40 death penalty
convictions and would halt executions, if necessary, to give the reviews time
to proceed. After an exoneration of an innocent man in his first week in
office and a total of 19 DNA-based (non-death penalty) exonerations in his
county, Watkins wanted to ensure that no innocent people were executed during
his tenure. "I don't want someone to be executed on my watch for something
they didn't do," explained Watkins. Texas leads the country in executions
with 414, including 9 this year.
To arrange an interview with DPIC's Executive Director, for more information
about the innocence list, or contact information for Michael Blair's attorney,
Phillip Wischkaemper, please contact Corinne Farrell at (202) 289-2275 or
cfarrell@deathpenaltyinfo.org.
Showing posts with label Michael Blair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Blair. Show all posts
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Collin County DA admits Michael Blair should not be on death row
Months after DNA evidence proved that a hair used to connect Michael Blair
to Ashley Estell did not belong to either person, the Collin County DA has
finally admitted that Michael Blair's conviction cannot stand. On death
row, he is case number 999122, but he won't be there for long.
Don't worry, though. Because this man has confessed to other brutal sexual
assaults, he won't be freed. Ever. But a Texas DA, a Texas jury and
several appeals courts almost had the blood of an innocent man (in this
case) on their hands. He was convicted because he was a known child
molestor who showed an interest in the case. If the process moved as
quickly as death penalty proponents wished it did, he'd be dead by now.
John Roach released this statement today:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
JOHN R. ROACH
Criminal District Attorney
COLLIN COUNTY COURTHOUSE
2100 BLOOMDALE RD., SUITE 20004
McKINNEY, TEXAS 75071
www.collincountyda.com
May 23, 2008
In November 2006, in light of the pending appellate litigation and the
potential outcome from that, I assembled a select group of investigators
and prosecutors from my office and assigned them the task of
re-investigating the Michael Blair capital murder case. Since then, the
Team has expended over 5,000 hours, interviewed more than 50 witnesses and
spent over $47,000 on its investigation. They exhaustively reviewed
records, files and evidence related to the case as well as tracking down
new leads and information. DNA testing was performed on a number of items
of evidence that had never before been DNA tested. The result: the Team
discovered no new evidence connecting Mr. Blair to Ashley Estell as well
as no new evidence demonstrating Mr. Blair's guilt.
However, through its work, the Team identified at least one other person
of interest. This person not only exhibited suspicious activity after the
murder, much as Mr. Blair did, but this person cannot be scientifically
excluded as a contributor to a piece of DNA evidence in the case.
Unfortunately, despite strenuous efforts, the Team has been unable to
eliminate or conclusively connect this person to the offense.
At this time, the expert hair comparison testimony in trial that connected
Ashley Estell and Mr. Blair has been disproved by DNA testing of a type
that was not available at the time of the trial in 1994. None of the hairs
belong to either Ashley Estell or Mr. Blair. No other credible,
individualized forensic evidence connects Ashley Estell and Mr. Blair.
Although Mr. Blair has not been exonerated, I believe the evidence as it
now stands meets the criteria for relief under the law. There is no good
faith argument to support the current conviction in light of the facts and
the law as they now exist. Therefore, under my duty to not only uphold the
law but to see that justice is done, the State is joining today with the
defense team in its request for relief.
This case remains in litigation and under investigation. Accordingly, this
office cannot comment further on the matter at this time.
John R. Roach
Criminal District Attorney
Tim Wyatt
Collin County Public Information
210 S. McDonald St., Suite 626,
McKinney, Texas 75069
http://www.co.collin.tx.us
to Ashley Estell did not belong to either person, the Collin County DA has
finally admitted that Michael Blair's conviction cannot stand. On death
row, he is case number 999122, but he won't be there for long.
Don't worry, though. Because this man has confessed to other brutal sexual
assaults, he won't be freed. Ever. But a Texas DA, a Texas jury and
several appeals courts almost had the blood of an innocent man (in this
case) on their hands. He was convicted because he was a known child
molestor who showed an interest in the case. If the process moved as
quickly as death penalty proponents wished it did, he'd be dead by now.
John Roach released this statement today:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
JOHN R. ROACH
Criminal District Attorney
COLLIN COUNTY COURTHOUSE
2100 BLOOMDALE RD., SUITE 20004
McKINNEY, TEXAS 75071
www.collincountyda.com
May 23, 2008
In November 2006, in light of the pending appellate litigation and the
potential outcome from that, I assembled a select group of investigators
and prosecutors from my office and assigned them the task of
re-investigating the Michael Blair capital murder case. Since then, the
Team has expended over 5,000 hours, interviewed more than 50 witnesses and
spent over $47,000 on its investigation. They exhaustively reviewed
records, files and evidence related to the case as well as tracking down
new leads and information. DNA testing was performed on a number of items
of evidence that had never before been DNA tested. The result: the Team
discovered no new evidence connecting Mr. Blair to Ashley Estell as well
as no new evidence demonstrating Mr. Blair's guilt.
However, through its work, the Team identified at least one other person
of interest. This person not only exhibited suspicious activity after the
murder, much as Mr. Blair did, but this person cannot be scientifically
excluded as a contributor to a piece of DNA evidence in the case.
Unfortunately, despite strenuous efforts, the Team has been unable to
eliminate or conclusively connect this person to the offense.
At this time, the expert hair comparison testimony in trial that connected
Ashley Estell and Mr. Blair has been disproved by DNA testing of a type
that was not available at the time of the trial in 1994. None of the hairs
belong to either Ashley Estell or Mr. Blair. No other credible,
individualized forensic evidence connects Ashley Estell and Mr. Blair.
Although Mr. Blair has not been exonerated, I believe the evidence as it
now stands meets the criteria for relief under the law. There is no good
faith argument to support the current conviction in light of the facts and
the law as they now exist. Therefore, under my duty to not only uphold the
law but to see that justice is done, the State is joining today with the
defense team in its request for relief.
This case remains in litigation and under investigation. Accordingly, this
office cannot comment further on the matter at this time.
John R. Roach
Criminal District Attorney
Tim Wyatt
Collin County Public Information
210 S. McDonald St., Suite 626,
McKinney, Texas 75069
http://www.co.collin.tx.us
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