TV-Series :: Prison Break :: Character Guide

Crime: Attempted armed robbery of a bank
Sentence: 5 years with a chance of parole in 2 and a half years

When Michael’s brother, Lincoln, was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit, Michael, upon learning that his brother borrowed 90,000 dollars to put him through school, swore to himself that he would get Lincoln out of jail if it was the last thing he did.

As kids, Lincoln and Michael were orphaned when their mother died of liver cancer. Their father had abandoned the brothers before Michael’s birth, so it was up to Lincoln, then 15, to raise Michael, then 11, on his own.

Though Lincoln soon fell into a life of crime, he made sure Michael did not follow in his footsteps and sent him to Morton East High School where Michael was an incredibly gifted student. From there, Michael attended Loyola University majoring and earning his Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering. With his education, he became a structural engineer for Middleton, Maxwell and Schaum in downtown Chicago.

After Lincoln’s appeals were denied, Michael began to hatch a plan to break his brother out of Fox River prison. His engineering firm had been retrofitting Fox River, so Michael had access to the blueprints of the facility. With them, Michael had sections of the plans tattooed on his body hidden in gothic images which hide the prison's complex underground tunnels and passageways, as well as hints and reminders that will aide in Michael’s plan. To set the plan in motion, Michael faked a bank robbery, pled no contest to the charges, and requested to be sent to a prison near his home which happened to be Fox River.

Inside the prison, Michael slowly put his plan into motion. He recruited his cellmate to help him dig a tunnel out of his cell, a henchman to get him on PI so he’d have access to maintenance areas, D.B. Cooper, whose 5 million dollars would help fund their escape, as well as other key members who provided materials, access, and inside knowledge of the prison.

However, things didn’t always go according to plan. He had several run-ins with fellow prison mates, who often left him injured, and at one point a vital part of his tattoo was burned off while trying to hide from a prison guard. However, Michael’s knowledge of the building and high intelligence helped him make the necessary changes to the plan to keep the break out on track.

Along the way, Michael developed a relationship with the infirmary doctor, Dr. Sara Tancredi, the daughter of the Illinois Governor. The infirmary was a key part of the escape so Michael faked having diabetes to gain daily access to this area. However, he soon began to develop feelings for Sara, and vice versa, but Michael had to use her in order to get the infirmary door unlocked. With the door unlocked, Michael, Lincoln and the others were able to escape from the prison and head to the airfield where a plane had been scheduled to meet them.

Now out of prison, Michael must work to stay hidden and do what he set out to do all along – prove Lincoln’s innocence.