Judge Webb Biard, of the 366th District Court in Collin County, ordered that Michael Blair's capital murder conviction be overturned.

Judge Webb Biard, of the 366th District Court in Collin County, ordered that Michael Blair's capital murder conviction be overturned. Michael Blair, 37, white, was sentenced to death in 1994 for the sexual assault and murder of 7-year-old Ashley Estell. The case led to the passage of "Ashley's Laws" to increase punishments for such offenses. Collin County District Attorney John Roach announced that new DNA tests show no physical evidence linking Blair to the crime. The only forensic evidence that pointed to Blair for the kidnap-murder was hair evidence; new DNA evidence has shown that the hair belonged to another person. D.A. Roach said, “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." Regardless of the outcome of this case, Blair is serving 3 consecutive life sentences for sex crimes involving children that he admitted to in 2004.  This case now returns to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for further review based on the lower court's conclusions. Michael Blair will be the 9th person sentenced to death row in Texas to be exonerated; the 130th in the nation from 26 states.