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Some Thoughts on the Michael Blair Case

By standdown

Given the Collin County District Attorney's comments earlier today, I think it's accurate to say that Michael Blair will be exonerated of the 1993 murder of seven year-old Ashley Estell.  When that happens, Michael Blair will be the 9th person sentenced to death row in Texas to be exonerated; the 130th in the nation from 26 states. It is a case that combines a number of different factors that traditionally have led to wrongful convictions.  First, the disappearance of a young girl at a public event and the subsequent discovery of her body in the midst of a large-scale search created an atmosphere of public hysteria that seldom leads to measured response.  In Michael Blair, a convicted sex offender, you had an unsympathetic defendant whom some judged to be guilty from the beginning, regardless of the facts...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on May 23, 2008 (boomark / email).