USA - Texas. After the May 23 (see) overturning of the murder conviction, today the Collin County court has dismissed capital murder charges against Michael Blair

After the May 23 (see) overturning of the murder conviction, today the Collin County court has dismissed capital murder charges against Michael Blair who had been on death row for the 1993 murder of Ashley Estell. 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. 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.