The characters: Michael Scofield
- Birthdate: September 8th, 1978
- Crime: Attempted armed robbery
- Sentence: 5 years (parole in two and a half years)
- Education: Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loyola University in Chicago with a B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering
After Michael Scofield's father abandoned the family before his birth, he took his mother's maiden name as his own name. His mother died of liver cancer when he was 11 and Lincoln was 15.
His older brother, Lincoln Burrows tried his best to raise him. Having lost their parents, Lincoln descended into a life of crime. However, Lincoln worked hard to prevent Michael from suffering the same fate. Michael was a gifted pupil and finished Morton East High School with an impeccable record. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from Loyola University in Chicago. He went on to become successful as a structural engineer at the firm of Middleton, Maxwell and Schaum in downtown Chicago.
Clinically diagnosed with low latent inhibition, Michael is unable to block out periphery information and instead processes every aspect and detail of any given stimulus. This, combined with a high IQ, theoretically makes him a creative genius. Due to a feeling of abandonment during childhood, Michael developed very low self-worth making him extremely empathetic towards other peoples emotions, as he is unable to block out their suffering. This explains Michael's desire to make huge sacrifices to help others in the show.
Three years before Lincoln was imprisoned at Fox River, Michael and Lincoln's relationships had grown strained because of their differing lives. Michael viewed Lincoln as irresponsible and became tired of "being the older brother to his older brother". After Lincoln was arrested for Steadman's murder, Michael initially thought that Lincoln was guilty. However, upon discovering that his brother had taken a $90,000 debt to pay for his education, Michael realized that his brother was not the man he thought he was. Remembering how Lincoln had always looked after him when he was a child, Michael swore to do the same. He reviewed Lincoln's case countless times but could not find a way to help him via any legal means.
After Lincoln's last appeals were denied, Michael decided to take matters into his own hands. Coincidentally, Michael's firm had been responsible for retrofitting the prison where Lincoln was incarcerated (Fox River State Penitentiary), so Michael had access to the blueprints of the facility. From this information, Michael spent a year creating an elaborate plan to break out his brother.
