Posted on 06/14/2005 7:32:32 AM PDT by Asphalt
Michael Jackson's fans were cheering and hugging each other Monday outside the courtroom where he was acquitted on all counts in his child molestation case. But it was impossible for us to get excited over the verdict. You could feel relief that this case was over and the 46-year-old "King of Pop" had gotten his day in court, but no number of "not guilty" pronouncements could erase the taint of the "lifestyle" choices that got him into trouble.
As Jackson was driven away in a funereal black vehicle, under the gaze of a now standard-issue helicopter camera, we wondered how he will respond to being freed of accusations some experts were sure he would be convicted of and even those who thought otherwise acknowledged came dangerously close to criminal behavior. Will the owner and aging lost boy of Neverland continue to insist he is pure of heart and spirit, did nothing wrong in sleeping with underage boys and faces no greater challenge than being misunderstood? Or will he respond to his brush with years in prison by facing up to his psychological problems and seeking help for them?
In saying "the healing process must begin," Jesse Jackson may have been talking about recovering from the grueling trial and its coverage. But Michael Jackson has deeper personal issues to deal with -- including, possibly, being in a state of denial. His strange appearance at the courtroom in his pajamas, his stomping on the roof of his SUV, his mystery trips to the E.R. certainly did nothing to establish his stability.
He will live with the knowledge that he owes his freedom to the prosecution's haphazard case as much as his pleas of innocence or any skillful turns by the defense to support them. This was a case, built and rebuilt over a decade by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, undone by prosecution witnesses seemingly hired by the defense. They included a young accuser who kept changing his story; the accuser's mother, who came off as a gold digger and, in allowing him to sleep in Jackson's bed, a derelict parent, and an ex-wife of Jackson's, Debbie Rowe, who was brought in by prosecutors to testify against him but spoke of what a wonderful father he was. This despite being involved in a custody battle with him.
In the end, even as this verdict is applauded for showing you're not guilty until proven so in this country, it will, for some, confirm the notion that celebrities get their way in the justice system. Will Jackson's biggest media moment since "Thriller" recharge his career, which was on an artistic and commercial decline before the molestation charges were raised? Perhaps if he stops blaming other people for his misfortunes and starts taking responsibility for them. But if he continues living in his fantasy world, any buzz from this trial will wear off as fast as cable news can find another scandal to obsess over.
I watched the jurors being interviewed and it was like taking a train ride into idiot land with no stops. They couldn't even put two sentences together to save their butts. The reasonings for their verdict was pathetic and appalling.
His supporters are ignorant morons. I can't even stand to look at the guy's horrifying face without it sending a cold shiver through my soul. CNN noted he looked "stunned" when the verdict was reached. Gee, I wonder why? Probably because he's guilty as sin.
1 to 1 Jackson puts out an album called "VINDICATION" and a video of him 100 foot tall acting like a Superhero who destroys the "evil" Tom Sneddon while children scream "We love you Michael"!
sounds plausible
My opinion, that most seem to disagree with, is that in this particular case Jacko is innocent. The prosecution had one of the crappiest cases ever. however, I would say that it is more than likely that in the past he has molested boys. It all sounds rather fishy.
Michael Jackson is online this morning sending a 55 gallon drum of Vasoline to Sneddon.
He's knows God is going to get him. BTW That's no umbrella it's a lightning rod.
I wonder if he knows which muscles in his face make a "stunned" look anymore ?
The reasonings for their verdict were perfectly understandable, given the behavior of the mother and the lack of evidence that MJ did anything to her kid.
Jackson molested children, but the prosecution simply didn't prove that he molested this child.
And that's really unfortunate.
I hope they meant that sarcastically or did they also congratulate OJ after he turned his ex-wife into a human facsimile of a Pez dispenser?
"I watched the jurors being interviewed and it was like taking a train ride into idiot land with no stops. They couldn't even put two sentences together to save their butts. The reasonings for their verdict was pathetic and appalling."
jury of his piers
It wasn't about the mother damn. So, you're saying that if a child has a crappy mother, the child should not be believed, therefore, no justice? What kind of bullsh*t is that????
Did you by any chance see the interview with the jury foreman on the Nancy Grace show? She was disgusted, and so was I--and by the time she was done with him, I do believe he looked a little ashamed of himself. (And well he should have.) The question she kept asking was, What on earth did he think a man in his 40s doing in bed with little boys who weren't his own all those night. He wouldn't give a straight answer--but it was obvious he thought the same thing I did--he was molesting the children. YET, he voted "not guilty" on all counts.
Maybe "our" country
is in worse shape than we think.
I mean, if these folks
are "average," how
can a country exist that's
by, for and of them?!
"The reasonings for their verdict were perfectly understandable, given the behavior of the mother and the lack of evidence that MJ did anything to her kid."
I didn't follow it that closely, but that's the information I get. Not that MJ is totally innocent, just that there wasn't enough evidence in this one case.
I'm a rebel, especially when it comes to protecting people from filth like this. I would have voted him guilty not because of the preponderance of evidence, but because of the pattern.
I saw that and I was appalled. Nancy Grace had his butt cornered and he totally couldn't take the heat. If you can't explain your verdict in depth and sound confident about it then something is wrong.
One, I don't think this jury would have convicted him even if they'd had video of him committing the crimes. Two, once a child molester, always a child molester. They can't turn it off. Releasing him is a guarantee that more boys will be molested, and that it will be more difficult to prosecute him in the future. In fact, probably impossible.
Congratulations??????????????????????????
Don't know. Congrats that he escaped, reguardless of whether he was guilty.
If OJ really was framed, then he is the luckiest man in the world, and that was one heck of a frame. If he wasn't, which seemse far more than likely, then I feel very sorry for relatives of the wife.
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