Posted on 06/14/2005 1:53:54 AM PDT by Mo1
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- One of the jurors who acquitted Michael Jackson on all counts said he believes the pop star is "probably" a molester, but the prosecution didn't prove it.
In an interview on CNN, juror Raymond Hultman questioned the way Jackson has shared his bedroom and bed with young boys. Hultman said "that doesn't make sense" to him.
But, he said, that didn't make Jackson guilty of the charges presented in this case.
Jackson is back home at his Neverland ranch after being found not guilty on all 10 counts in his molestation and conspiracy trial.
Jackson looked straight ahead as the not guilty verdict was read, vindicating the pop star who insisted he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta. The singer dabbed at his eyes while hearing the court clerk announce his acquittal on all counts.
One of Jackson's lawyers burst into tears as the verdict was announced. He later got hugs from her and from head lawyer Thomas Mesereau.
Jurors also acquitted Jackson of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at his storybook estate. It was a total legal victory for Jackson and his defense team.
Screams of joy rang out among a throng of fans outside the courthouse as the not guilty verdict was read on the final charge. Jackson had been facing a possible sentence of more than 18 years in prison.
The jury heard some 14 weeks of testimony, then deliberated for more than 30 hours.
Jackson appeared stone-faced as he began to walk out of the courthouse, flanked by sisters LaToya and Janet. His brother, Jermaine, could be seen smiling while waiting for him to exit.
Jackson held a hand out in front of him in a mini-wave while being escorted to his vehicle by security guards
As the screams from supporters grew louder, Jackson touched his heart twice and waved again before blowing a kiss to the crowd. He was then put into his black SUV before his caravan drove away -- chased by some fans.
"This proves that justice can prevail in America," one fan said.
"We love you Michael!" shouted Tara Bardella, 19, who was in the crowd outside the courthouse.
Cheers of "innocent" erupted outside the courthouse after the verdicts were read. More than 300 anxious fans and onlookers had waited for the verdicts outside the courthouse in Santa Maria. They chanted "innocent" in unison as they pressed against a chain link fence that served as a barrier.
Some waved signs that read "Keep Michael Free" and stood atop stepladders to get a better look.
Jurors in the Jackson trial are hoping it's from here to obscurity for them.
After the innocent verdicts were announced, the judge read a statement from the jury that said: "We the jury feel the weight of the world's eyes upon us." The jurors asked to be allowed to return to "our private lives as anonymously as we came."
The jurors did meet with reporters after the trial. One juror said the process of reaching a verdict was simple -- they all "just looked at the evidence and pretty much agreed" that Michael Jackson was innocent.
The jurors who acquitted the singer on all counts said they made it a point from the beginning to look at Jackson as an ordinary person, not a star. They said from there, it was easier to deal with the case.
They said the intense media glare on the case didn't make them uncomfortable. What did make one juror uncomfortable was the mother of Jackson's accuser.
Juror No. 5 said she remembered the woman snapping her fingers at the jury. The juror said she thought to herself, "Don't snap your fingers at me, lady."
Another juror said she wonders why the accuser was allowed to stay with Jackson so long -- saying no mother "in her right mind" would let her child just go off and sleep with someone, Michael Jackson or anyone else.
Jackson, 46, had been charged with conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion, three counts of committing lewd acts upon a child, one count of attempted lewd acts upon a child, and four counts of administering intoxicating agents to assist in the commission of a felony.
Mesereau said justice was done in the case.
"The man's innocent. He always was," Mesereau said in a statement on a Jackson Web site.
He's going to need a different nose over there in Bankok to breathe that great humid air.
;-)
Every last one.
Hultman said "that doesn't make sense" to him.
Very little about Jackson makes sense.
The jury was "star struck" You could see it in their eyes,especially that Red headed woman. A celebrity can not be convicted of a crime in California.Out of all the "celebrity trials" not involving rappers, perhaps the weakest case was in the Tyson trial, and that was one of the only convictions.
-Eric
If the jurors had kept their mouths shut, I might feel different, but they didn't, and I don't. Twelve angry situational ethicists got their fifteen minutes of fame... and they sure showed that trashy mom what they thought of her.
Has someone been telling jurors "leave your common sense at the door"?
I think some people don't know the definition of "reasonable".
I still don't know why they did'nt vote guilty on the misdemeanor "lewd acts with a minor". Everyone, even MJ on videotape, admits that he and the kid slept on the same bed together. That works for me.
At least convict him of something so he would be an official "sex offender".
There is no double jeopardy problem if he commits a new crime against another kid.
So I guess this means if the parents are challenged in any way, a pedophile can have is way with their kids? How do these people sleep at night?
An elusive concept, apparently.
Let me put it this way, their hero MJ is a dem and anyone who could find him not guilty couldn't possibly be a Republican. That whole group looked like a bunch of dims to me.
Our system does not lock up everyone who we think might have committed a crime. Our system is based on rights of the citizens and to lock someone up we have to be most certain. It's hard in cases like this, but I am still glad we have our system and not yours.
The basic problem with this case is that jurors had to decide which assortment of characters -- the Jackson entourage or the family of the accuser -- was more credible. In one sense, I think justice was truly done in this case. I said way back at the start of this trial that it didn't seem right for Jackson to face charges of molesting children while all those families who allowed their children to sleep over at that freak's ranch -- especially after the accusations of child molestation began to surface.
I believe it would have to be the same *incident* rather than same location or type of crime to qualify as double jeopardy. But I agree that the DA is going to be leery of trying this again. Looks like, guilty or no, the case wasn't strong enough this time.
I'd say it's a good bet their all liberals.
Yes, and this proves that Michael Jackson — you know, the actual accused — was innocent because...?
Dan
Not true at all. The problem was the prosecution overcharged in this case and lost credibility with the jury. By including the kidnapping and conspiracy charges which were weak, they opened the door for not guilty on all the charges. An effective prosecution keeps it simple and only uses its best evidence and only makes charges it can prove.
The fact that they didn't convict on the alcohol charges calls their entire process for determining guilt into question in my opinion. Has anyone asked jurors why the didn't?
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