MJ-Not Guilty

[RIVERLOVER]

Michael Jackson Acquitted of All Charges

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent 1 minute ago

A jury acquitted Michael Jackson on Monday of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland ranch, vindicating the pop star who insisted he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta.

Jurors also acquitted him of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at the storybook estate — a huge legal victory but one that may do little to improve his bizarre image.

A caravan of black SUVs delivered Jackson, wearing a black suit and flanked by family members, to the courthouse. Jackson was greeted by "Michael, innocent" chants as he walked into the courthouse.

The jury, which listened to 14 weeks of testimony and arguments, deliberated over seven days before sending word of a verdict at about 12:30 p.m.

The announcement came shortly after Judge Rodney S. Melville issued a statement saying that the jury asked and withdrew a question Monday morning. He also confirmed that on Friday the jury had a read-back of testimony and there were four meetings in chambers with attorneys. News organizations had filed motions seeking information on such developments.

Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor in 2003, plying him with wine and conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging television documentary.

In the documentary, "Living With Michael Jackson," Jackson held hands with the boy and told interviewer Martin Bashir that he let children into his bed but it was innocent and non-sexual.

Jackson, who climbed to fame with the Jackson 5 and dominated pop music in the 1980s with the powerhouse "Thriller" and other albums, was portrayed at trial as a pedophile who lured boys into his bed at his fairytale Neverland ranch. The defense called the accuser and his family con artists.

Jackson's career began to lose its luster after 1993 allegations of child molestation that ended with a multimillion-dollar civil settlement paid to a boy, and his lifestyle, two marriages, and drastic changes in appearance became fodder for "Wacko Jacko" tabloid headlines.

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Associated Press Writers Tim Molloy and Paul Chavez contributed to this report.

[ELLIE]

I don't know how 12 people can be so incredibly stupid. Honestly, I watched the jurors being interviewed and they couldn't put two sentences to together to save their asses. One juror even admitted that Jackson probaby sexually abused boys in the past, but, overlooked that. Anybody who knows anything about sex offenders, knows that once a sex offender, always a sex offender. They can not change.

They based their verdict on the fact that they didn't like the mother. Well, damn, the trial wasn't about her. It was about child molestation, point blank. I don't care what the mother is like, that does not give a person the right to put their hands on her child. So, the family may have been drifters and what have you. What's worse, a drifter or a child molestor? He may have been found not guilty from the standards of beyond a reasonable doubt, but, that's a far cry from saying his completely innocent of everything, past and present.

[RIVERLOVER]

I think author J. Randy Taraborrelli said it best back in February during an interview (paraphrasing):
"Michael is not a molester, but he has made some stupid decisions."

I hope that Michael will quit being stubborn and listen to the people around him who have told him from the beginning to stop the madness. This is the second time his butt has been placed to the fire, I thought he would have learned the first time. I also hope Michael will seek some counseling b/c he has been battling some serious demons over the years.

I know the trial was not about the mother, but she should have used some judgment when she allowed her sons to stay at his home ten years after he was accused (not convicted) of molestation. Yes, he's famous but it's not like they've known him for years.

The only people who know the truth are God, Michael and the accuser.

[ELLIE]

He should have learned his lesson years ago, but, no, he stayed the same. Perhaps, this trial finally scared him straight. But, I highly doubt it. The defense used the classic 'sluts and nuts' defense. The mother was a crappy, and by all accounts neurotic, so they portrayed her as nuts, and, yeah, she may be two french fries short of a happy meal, but, that still doesn't give anyone the right to put her hands on her child.

Basically, I saw the verdict as well, if you come from a bad family, you can forget about justice. The mother can be a liar and nuts and her child could have been molested. Both can be true. Just because the mother is all of those things that doesn't mean the child had it coming or that makes the victim less credible. Yes, any parent who lets their children within two feet of Jackson needs to be smacked upside the head. I am a mother and I will see someone dead first before they even think about hurting my babies.

As more of the jurors talk about the verdict I am convinced that there should be an IQ test before voir dire. They judged the mother on her past, but, not on Jackson's. That's astonishing to me since, he was the one on trial and his past was admitted into evidence. The jury made their decision. I don't have to like it, but, at least I can go to bed at night and wake up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror knowing that I didn't let Jackson walk to continue on with his own lascivious devices.