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.
The evidence upon which Michael Blair was convicted was paper-thin; forensic science today considered junk science. He was convicted on the basis of microscopic hair analysis -- a standard forensics tool before the advent of DNA testing. Hair found in his car appeared to be consistent with Ashley Estell's, hair found at the crime scene, consistent with his. Once DNA testing became available, however, the theory broke down. DNA tests conducted in 1998, 2000, 2002, and more recently all excluded Blair.
In spite of the latest, most accurate evidence, Collin County prosecutors continued to insist that they had identified the perpetrator and that the sentence was just. And in spite of the latest, most accurate evidence, Texas courts were content to move slowly -- perhaps because Michael Blair was a convicted sex offender; he had certainly been guilty of something, whether or not that involved Ashley Estell's murder.
Ray Krone, the 100th person in the nation to be exonerated from a death sentence, had been convicted by another form of junk science, bite mark analysis. Ray Krone was fortunate enough to win a new trial, but was again convicted. Lingering doubts about his guilt, however, led the Arizona trial judge to sentence him to life in prison instead of death. Only after DNA testing was available, was Ray Krone exonerated.
In one of the horrible ironies of the criminal justice system, Ray eventually discovered that the bite mark analyst who testified at his trial had been paid more in expert witness fees that his entire defense had been allocated.
And of course, worst of all, the actual perpetrator of the murder for which Ray Krone was convicted remained on the streets and victimized others before being convicted for an unrelated offense. The same was true in the case of Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate exonerated thanks to DNA testing.
Too often, some prosecutors have failed to follow through on exonerations, continuing to insist that they had the right person the first time. In Kirk Bloodsworth's case, years passed before DNA testing was conducted on evidence and a match found. Perhaps because the science of DNA testing is now better understood -- along with a greater appreciation of the root causes of wrongful convictions -- many prosecutors are now more open to investigating failed cases. State and federal laws creating DNA databases have also grown in recent years, allowing cold cases to be solved.
Everyone who has been involved in the Michael Blair case, all of the victims, all of the players, can only hope that one day justice will be served and the actual perpetrator punished.
State Senators Rodney Ellis, Eliot Shapleigh, and Criminal Justice Committee Chair John Whitmire, State Representative Elliott Naishtat and others in the House have championed criminal justice reforms that have fallen short in past legislative sessions. The facts of wrongful convictions, innocence, and excessive sentencing, however, continue to be brought into sharper focus in the spotlight of public inspection. The case of Michael Blair is the latest example, and it is glaring.
I have not even mentioned the names of Ruben Cantu, Carlos De Luna, and Todd Willingham -- the three men that journalists have reported were likely innocents executed by Texas between 1989 and 2004. If we believe -- as some do -- that our system has already taken sufficient corrections, the case of Michael Blair and his eventual exoneration should persuade us that we still have work to do.
In a state that has far and away the most active execution chamber in America, I'd like to mention why this project was formed -- to work with supporters and opponents of the death penalty who understand that we have a broken system in need of repair.
To stand down is a military phrase that means to go off duty temporarily, especially to review safety procedures. More than ever, as Michael Blair's case illustrates, it should be clear that Texas needs to stand down, with a moratorium on executions and time to conduct a state-sponsored review of it's application of capital punishment. Governor Perry, legislators, judges, prosecutors and the defense bar need to hasten the recent improvements in our indigent criminal justice system.
We have approximately 160,000 men and women sleeping in prison cells tonight in Texas. Even if we believe that we are getting it 99.9% right, it means that 160 innocents are wrongfully confined tonight. In the next month and a half I'll be watching for the Supreme Court's ruling in the Rothgery case (coverage here.) Walt Rothgery was clearly innocent of the charge lodged against him, but Gillespie County refused to appoint an attorney as he continually requested; as soon as the attorney was appointed, the matter was cleared and Rothgery freed. The ruling may well be another slam by the Supreme Court against Texas and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for failing to provide justice and proper judicial review.
If you have not done so, I hope you will take the opportunity to examine earlier coverage of Michael Blair's case. The thread begins with this post, with links at the bottom of each earlier individual post. In light of today's events, it should be most sobering. The historian David McCullough has spoken of the of the tendency to read history and view it in the present as having been on some inevitable track; a completely inaccurate view. McCullough argued that history is made in the moment, in twists and turns that no one could predict. We have an obligation to examine the long, troubled odyssey of Michael Blair's case in that light.
Comments