Michael Blair

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	15
Year Crime:	1993
Year Convicted:	1994
Year Cleared:	2008
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Texas
County or Region of Crime:	Collin
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Michael Blair was wrongly convicted of the 1993 molestation and murder of 7-year-old Ashley Estell. Michael Blair was sentenced to death. In November 2006 Collin County re-opened its investigation into the case, assigning it to a cold case squad. The investigation eventually identified that another man, identified as Suspect 4, could have committed the crime. After a DNA test of hair evidence excluded Blair, the County prosecutor did not oppose Blair's motion for a new trial. On June 25, 2008 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Blair's conviction and ordered a new trial. The County was expected to dismiss the charges against Blair, but the other suspect cannot be tried, because that man died in the late 1990s. Blair had spent 14 years on death row. He wasn't immediately released because of his convictions and life sentences for two rapes he confessed to committing."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"DNA tests unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him, while identifying another man as the perpetrator."
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	23
Age When Released:	38
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Collin County agrees to retry Michael Blair, The Plano Star, June 25, 2008"
Information Location 1:	http://www.planostar.com/articles/2008/06/25/plano_star-courier/news/35.txt
Information Source 2:	"Appeals court overturns Michael Blair's conviction in Ashley Estell case, Dallas Morning News, June 25, 2008"
Information Location 2:	http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/062608dntexmichaelblair.3a57ef80.html
Information Source 3:	"Texas inmate Michael Blair seeks compensation after murder conviction overturned, KTHV Chanel 11, November 13, 2012"
Information Location 3:	http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/234623/288/Texas-inmate-who-admitted-rapes-seeks-compensation
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Michael Blair

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

15

Year Crime:

1993

Year Convicted:

1994

Year Cleared:

2008

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Texas

County or Region of Crime:

Collin

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"DNA tests unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him, while identifying another man as the perpetrator."

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

23

Age When Released:

38

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Collin County agrees to retry Michael Blair, The Plano Star, June 25, 2008"

Information Location 1:

http://www.planostar.com/articles/2008/06/25/plano_star-courier/news/35.txt

Information Source 2:

"Appeals court overturns Michael Blair's conviction in Ashley Estell case, Dallas Morning News, June 25, 2008"

Information Location 2:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/062608dntexmichaelblair.3a57ef80.html

Information Source 3:

"Texas inmate Michael Blair seeks compensation after murder conviction overturned, KTHV Chanel 11, November 13, 2012"

Information Location 3:

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/234623/288/Texas-inmate-who-admitted-rapes-seeks-compensation

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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