If I were a betting woman, I’d wager that the jurors will find the pervert Not Guilty on all molestation-related charges.
But I’m not, so I won’t. Perhaps justice will prevail.
Update (4:44 p.m.): Verdict annoucement changed to 4:50.
4:53: Waiting…
4:59: Still waiting. The networks have pre-empted regular programming.
5:03: Michelle is on riot watch.
5:15: Jackson was found NOT GUILTY on all counts. Told ya. So a grown freak man with a lot of money who “sleeps” with young boys will continue to do so and get away with it. He should be strung up in the public square, along with the parents.
Too nauseated to blog. Going offline.
The Therapist keeps things in perspective with humor. He writes: “Single mothers with dubious parental skills are said to have flooded NeverLand ranch with overt requests to have their children occupy Jackson’s bed, ‘just as soon as the radiating glare of Tom Sneddon’s hatred is finally abated.’”
Now I’m going offline.
Update II (9:30 p.m.): Just heard a Jackson juror speaking in Spanish to a reporter. Can she speak and understand English, and if not, why was she on the jury? I’d call for a mistrial. Hat tip: Michael Savage.
Perhaps we need a Star Chamber for pervert cases.
Update III (11:55 p.m.): Commenter Sensible Mom writes: “About the spanish speaking juror. One of the reporters from a spanish station asked the jurors a question (in English) and then asked if the jurors would respond in English and then in spanish, if possible.”
Fair enough. I guess I’m a little jumpy, given the overrun of illegal aliens in America, bankrupting hospitals and government schools, and President Bush cooking up a plan to allow them to remain while others who waited years to immigrate legally and become American citizens can’t do anything but watch the plan unfold.
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Rule of thumb states that the longer a jury deliberates, the better the chances for the defendant.
If he is acquitted, I’d bet that molestees around LA don’t burn down the city over it . . .
I agree LaShawn…..they will find him not guilty……and I might be in a minority here but I actually believe he is innocent……If he truly had pedophile tendancies, wouldn’t their be like a parade of kids and their parents bringing charges against him?? I mean I’m no expert on this but this all kinda strikes me as a gold digger Mom trying to get some moola here…
Regardless, and this goes without saying, Michael is one seriously messed up person that I hope gets some serious counseling one day!!
Wouldn’t surprise me if Jacko was aquitted. There are two sets of rules in this country. One for the regular joe shmoes and even wealthy, powerful conservatives… And another that applies to athletes, Hollywood celebrities and democratic politicians, (which is to say no rules at all). How anyone could aquit this perv is beyond me, but leave it to California. It’s just like in the Brad Paisley song, “Celebrity”. Keepin’ my fingers crossed though.
FINALLY!!!
Maybe now we can see some real news. Don’t you just luv how
What still blows my mind, is that any parent thought sleep overs with MJ was okay. That’s not even taking into account where everyone is sleeping. I’d be doing some background checking and hard thinking about my kids going to a friends hose for the weekend, unless the parents were a well known commodity for me. But a single adult with a Peter Pan complex…
MJ may be a pedophile, but not much of a predator… he had his prey brought to him by willing adults, and they had to walk past all of the warning signs to do so.
If Jackson does get convicted, I wouldn’t mind seeing the mother of the current accuser and other victims parents investigated for endangering their children.
SO true SCSI, so true
It boggles the mind the decisions the parents made.
Sick as it is to even think such a thing, I firmly believe that some of these parents willingly saccrificed their children to Jackson in hopes of receiving a huge cash payout. So many people can’t possibly be so naive. The actions of such parents are no better than if they threw their kids over the fence at the bear exhibit at the zoo. It’s just sick.
Sodom and Gomorrah is us
Not guilty! Shamone, shamone, hee hee hee…
On all charges…
He ‘just beat it’
Dell ….
I can’t even comment
First of all, if you have been following the trial at all, you would realize that the evidence against him IN THIS CASE was not strong at all. When you have reasonable doubt, why should the jury go outside of the scope of evidence JUST SO YOU can feel good about your positions?
We wanted the jury to take time (unlike OJ) they did. We wanted them to evaluate the facts, and based upon the time it took them it seems they did. So why all the Jacko hostility, other than the fact that he is a wierdo boy sleeper wither?
So why all the Jacko hostility, other than the fact that he is a wierdo boy sleeper wither?
I dunno… nothing wrong with sleeping with little boys in America (apparently)
Not guilty on all 10. There will be some openings at the DA’s office. I didn’t think Mike was guilty and I’m glad he gets to walk. I hope he learns his lesson and just leave the kids alone. I know he likes to help, but there are too many snakes out there. And he needs to grow up anyway.
He is a very sick man who needs some help and some serious re-programming. I blame Joe Jackson.
And to echo some of the commenters, the accuser’s mother is no saint either. She is a proven con artist who was willing to pawn her children for money. I believe that is what ultimately turned the tide of this case. And being filthy rich didn’t hurt either (although for how much longer I don’t know).
I too also just about shouted ‘Europe!’ at my monitor when I read this….I think the next time that he’s brought up on charges (wait for it…) it’ll take the prosecution presenting about 40 MILES of video tape of Jackson in action to lock him away.
And it’s a shame that it’ll come to that.
I was pretty skeptical about the charges. His weirdness made him a prime target for extortion. I think the lynching suggestion is way outta line, too, LaShawn. Nevertheless, I can’t imagine that Jackson would sleep with any more boys. No matter how much the freak enjoys it he must by now see it’s not worth the trouble. He should just get a Cabbage Patch Kid and avoid any further legal trouble.
Hi La Shawn. This is the first and last time I will listen to anything about Michael Jackson.
I didn’t watch it, and I don’t waste my time contemplating what other people will do. I was not in the jury box.
Am I alone in this, or are others getting really sick and tired of celebrity trials? Why are there so many? Hmm.
Too much reasonable doubt. I wonder if this case would’ve been brought to trial had Madonna slept with young girls. Definite double standard.
I have my own theories on Jackson. One of them is that his father caused such mental abuse that his body grew but his mental capacity didn’t. In short, I still feel that he thinks he’s a CHILD. And when he slept with those boys that’s really all he did. Heck, when I was 8 or 9 and had a sleepover and there was only one bed, I slept with some of my male friends. In MJ’s own words, “there was nothing sexual.”
Do I think he’s a sick and deranged individual? Oh yeah. But there was too much reasonable doubt. And these victims and the parents were loons anyway.
I know mental health disorders don’t make for popular discussion in conservative circles, but if MJ is guilty of something it’s being messed up in the head. The more I hear accusations against him the more I disbelieve his accusers.
I think I’m gonna go pop in Thriller and relive the 80s.
So if the accuser was telling the truth, that means that other victims of sexual abuse have been pushed even further into silence.
LaShawn,
It did not surprise me, but it hurt me that he was found not guilty, but that does not mean “innocent” on all charges. A lawyer said on the radio, that he was found innocent, but I do not feel that not guilty means innocent! Good lawyers seem to get “not guilty” verdicts and become famous and rich. A good parent would not let a child (young) spend the night with anyone who acts like Michael Jackson!
James M. Barber
I concur. And what you heard the lawyer say on the radio is one of my legal pet peeves. It’s worse when lawyers say it! There is no such legal finding as “Innocent.”
It’s “Guilty” or “Not Guilty.” – Admin
Well, I guess we could always have Russell Crowe throw a phone at him, or Robert Downey, Jr give him drugs, Bobby Brown could slap around his wife, or Charlie Sheen get him a call girl.
I’m with Rosemary on this – enough already.
Interesting …
parents have gone to jail or had their childeren taken away for less…
Only in America
OJ, rich and not guilty.
“Barretta”, rich and not guilty.
Michael Jackson, rich and not guilty.
Scott Peterson, not rich and guilty.
I felt sick when I heard this verdict. Our justice system needs to be fixed so that there is one standard for all of us. Let’s get rid of the lawyers.
The average non-celebrity would’ve gotten a stiffer penalty (and convicted no less) for running a stop sign. And where does this freak get so much money from? He hasn’t worked in more than 10 years, he spends like a drunken sailor, and he’s reportedly deep in debt. So who bankrolled this miscariage of justice. You’ll never convince me that the perv didn’t have the judge and jury bought off, as unprovable as that is. I can’t claim it as fact but it’s what I belive.
“I firmly believe that some of these parents willingly saccrificed their children to Jackson in hopes of receiving a huge cash payout.”
John, you’d be surprised at at how true your words are, it is absolutely amazing what many parents will do and have done to get rich celebrities/business people to marry their daughters or sons, or to “take in” their children, all in the name of money. From working in the entertainment industry for a few years I came to find out this horrid truth. Amazing!
Michael Jackson has been acquitted on Earth, but he is still accountable to God. In Heaven there are no jury trials.
I fail to see how anyone could consider this case a miscarriage of justice. This came down to one thing – did the jury believe the words of the family. They didn’t. This family had no credibility whatsoever. The fact is the case would have never made it this far if it wasn’t Michael Jackson that they were accusing. Any prosecutor would have looked at the history of the family and came away with what many believe, this was a family of extortionist.
Do I believe MJ has some serious mental issues – I do. Would I allow my kids to visit Neverland – absolutely not. Do I believe MJ molested that boy – absolutely not. And no one has put up any evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to make me think otherwise.
Personal feelings don’t matter – you need concrete evidence and the DA didn’t have a thing. Now, if you want to change the law that says if you look guilty then you are guilty – go ahead. For you folks that are upset at the outcome, sorry that the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Rule of Law got in the way of justice.
I have deliberately not followed this case, because I believe there are much more important things happening to take up my time with.
However, I will weigh in on the side of those who believe that Jackson is a warped, damaged soul whom I would not allow within a country mile of my children (or any other child for whom I had any responsibility), but I will take the side of the justice system this time. What little I did hear, albeit fragmentary and unintentional, told me that there was a lot of muckraking and not much hard evidence. I suspect from the length of time the jurors deliberated, that many of them felt the same weigh. The guy’s a freak, sure, but no one established anything more.
Michael Jackson is a tragic figure – so much talent and such a twisted personality.
He’s a sicko. I’m done with him.
“Don’t stop ’til you get enough” …evidence, that is! That is something that the prosecution should have done. Simply not enough proof for a conviction, I guess. Being wierd (heck, Jackson was weird 20 years ago, he’s much worse now) isn’t a felony.
I haven’t honestly paid great heed to this drama, except the conclusion. Most people, acquitted of a crime, simply get on the next bus and go home. Jackson must’ve blocked traffic for miles with his suburbans and motorcycle escorts. This for an individual whose contribution to entertainment has been nil for over 10 years.
Jackson was acquitted in this case because the jury did not believe the accusers in the case, especially the mother of the main accuser — you know, the welfare cheater who also tried to call Jay Leno and who settled for $20 million not long ago and then allowed the kid to continue staying with Jackson, etc, etc.
Which brings us to a suggestion from one of the many attorneys hired as commentators by the cable news shows: maybe we should have IQ tests for potential jurors!
No 40 something man who is a true grown up and responsible adult sleeps with other peoples children…..”it’s sweet….” as Michael would say.
The man will never be let go of the baggage he has for the rest of his life. I don’t care if he is a genius in music…God gave him that talent.
But he has used his celebrity to get what Michael ultimately wanted….even though he talked about never getting a childhood, isnt that what he was taking away from these boys? Their childhood’s and innocence. He needs to show his love to his own children….not look at other people’s children as bait.
“he spends like a drunken sailor”
You should edit that to “pill-popping sailor,” it would be much more accurate.
Glad this is over. Aren’t there more important issues to worry about? Ahem, sorry. He is the King of Pop.
Michael Jackson is a known Pedophile: Fact. Let’s not forget the ‘other’ case that occurred before this one. You know, the one settled out of court?
This man is not going to stop his ‘weird practices’ (how some have described his behavior)! He will be EMBOLDENED by this verdict. Whether he was guilty THIS TIME or not, the precedent has already been established!
He WILL be a predator again. HE IS A PEDOPHILE.
I invite you to come to work with me for 1 day. I work in an ER. You can have your pick of child abuse cases: sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. Just pray that no child will be brought in DEAD like one a few nights ago.
Question:What degree of abuse is TOLERABLE?
ANSWER: NONE
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE
John/Jerry, how true that parents are not above sacrificing their children for mammon, so blatantly. That and to gratify personal insecurity/egos. Have you heard about Rosie O’Donnell demanding that her ‘wife’ stop breast feeding after a month, because she was jealous of the bonding going on with the one-month old baby.
Sick, twisted, idiotic etc, etc. Rosie may have been funny in the 80s as a stand-up, she ceased being funny since the 90s and has regressed to the pathethic creature she is today. Watch a messed up child 20 years from now.
O yeah, MJ? Money talks, Perps walk. Whether or not he actually did it is now moot. I’m inclined to think Snedman wouldn’t have joined battle if he thought there was reasonable doubt. Afterall, this hi-profile case would be a career killer if he lost. The problem is what the judge decides is admissable. Snedman bet his career and came up blank.
Think the jury looked at past cases and saw longer flash of fame that goes with a not-guilty verdict? The sense of I saved someone’s neck and his life is mine?
About the spanish speaking juror. One of the reporters from a spanish station asked the jurors a question (in English) and then asked if the jurors would repond in English and then in spanish, if possible.
One of the jurors said in the now obligatory post-verdict interview (and paraphrasing here), ‘Any parent who lets their kid sleep in the same bed with him (Jackson) is crazy.’
This indicates to me that some, if not all, of the jurors believed Jackson to be a pedophile, but the evidence as presented did not support the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Michael Jackson is a child molester. He will do it again. And sometime he will get caught red-handed; then the whole world will know and there will be no hiding. Perhaps when his own children are grown…
This is ridiculous and sad. When it was OJ people were saying, to many blacks and they were just voting against whites to not convict.
Now it is a jury of middle class whites and hispanics with only one black on the jury, and your excuses shift to, oh its just about money.
It is amazing to me how so many of you so-called conservatives support the justice system when it comes to conclusions that you like, but when the opposite occurs it is a wrecked piece of crap.
I have listened to the majority of the jurist interviews and it seemed clear that their reasoning was solid, they didn’t take their duty lightly, they weighed the evidence and came to a collective consensus that all though he probably was a kid diddler, this case didn’t BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT prove that.
Being strange and weird doesn’t mean you commit a crime, if this is the case I bet if we opened up many of the closets on this forum, we would have to convict you.
Supporting the justice system doesn’t require you to agree with any particular jury’s verdict. It does require you to accept the verdict, that is to not go out and riot or lynch the judge and lawyers. All the commenters here are doing is expressing their opinions about the case. No one is trashing the system.
I personally thought the prosecution’s case was weak, that the prosecutor was over-reaching and was not surprised by the outcome.
The children in this case were victimized by one or both of their parents, then by Michael Jackson, then by the parent’s lawyers, then by the lawyers for Michael Jackson, then by the jury. No matter how awful the parents are, children need to be protected. One of the injustices here is that the parents weren’t charged.
Long ago in an assignment for an evangelism class I spent an hour observing the customers in a restaurant that was more of a dive. Sitting in a booth that could be seen by everyone in the cafe were two women with a very young child on the table between them. One of the women was wearing a t-shirt that read, “I like to taste it coming.” She would feed the child a French fry by holding it above the child’s head and not dropping it into the child’s mouth until he/she had opened his/her mouth wide. After each French fry, she would look around to see if there were any takers. Up until the Jackson case, that was one of the most evil things I knew about.
I didn’t listen to the news all last night because I knew what it would be about. I may not listen today either. One good thing: At last the courtroom trial is over.
I have to agree with Dell. Part of what makes America great is the fact that a person (no matter how obviously weird) is presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. And the standard is pretty high – beyond a REASONABLE doubt (That’s better than the Terri Schiavo standard). The accuser had no credibility. Unfortunately, it might have been true that he was molested, but this particular victim (well, the mother anyway) was a serial litigator.
That said, Jacko needs some serious prayer and counseling.
The only two people I knew personally who admitted to being sexually abused were chronic liars. The lying probably began as a way of coping with a horrible environment. I am not sure how one prosecutes a case with such a victim.
This also used to be true of battered women. Afraid that no one would appreciate that they were being abused and taught to believe that they deserved ill treatment, they often would exaggerate wildly and lose credibility.
At least let’s hope that somewhere in this, lessons are learned about prosecuting people, rich or otherwise, who molest children.
I wasn’t in the courtroom, so I can’t say whether I think he committed those ten crimes or not. I don’t know how everyone “knows” he committed them without seeing the evidence firsthand and hearing the witnesses and both sides defending their position in the case. Honestly, I had found him guilty in my mind before the trial started, and I am ashamed to admit that because the Bible does not speak highly of hasty judgements.
The family sounded too “gold-digger” to the jury, I imagine, though being a greedy gold-digger doesn’t mean you weren’t wronged. Just like the old joke: Being paranoid doesn’t mean that people *aren’t* out to get you!
The sad thing is that if he is guilty, then he will no doubt act again. Child molesters are notoriously hard to “cure”, I’ve heard it compared to needing to cough–You can only suppress it for so long. If he is guilty, this trial won’t “teach him a lesson” for long. Hopefully, it will teach a lesson to other parents who would consider leaving their children unsupervised in his custody, however.
I’ve been surprised to hear conservative commentators say that it was a fair trial, and that the jury was conscientious. Is there something that the rest of us are missing?
One more thing: For all this talk about the weak prosecution, lack of evidence, manipulative mother, etc., not many people are considering the accuser. Terri Schiavo was starved to death because of her husband’s assertion that she wouldn’t want to live in such a condition. Jackson’s accuser(s) were making statements too, and the fact that they seemed contradictory is because sexually abused children are often afraid or ashamed to speak out. Even Ronald Reagan’s son didn’t talk about it until much later.
It will be interesting to see what happen’s to Jackson’s career. As I remember, when Claus Von Buelow [not sure of the spelling] was accused of killing his wife, he was very popular and invited to all the “best” parties, etc. After he was acquitted, his popularity sank like a stone.
Micheal Jackson can get away with anything becuase he is a rich wealthy black who can afford all those lawyers i tell you he is worse then OJ Simpson
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