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.
My bet is that we'll be hearing from the kids in the next 10 years or so....
Sadly, I believe their lives have little to no hope of 'normalcy'. But with a media light in their face, they may tell on Daddy without batting an eye.
Double Jeopardy means that he can't be tried for the same crime more than once. He can certainly be tried for other crimes.
I watched the idiot woman who released the doves. For your info everyone of those doves will die because they were raised in captivity and depend on humans to feed them. Made me sick. I have an African Grey Parrot that we raised from an infant. He could no way take care of himself in the wild. Nice goin A##holes.
But I'll bet a buck or two he doesn't rename his estate "Neveragainland"...
Well, sure they did. After all, that horrid woman snapped her fingers at them. /sarcasm
In other words, MJ could be tried if the prosecutor gets wind of NEW instances in which MJ molested ANYONE, including that same boy. He just can't be tried for the same instances of molestation.
LOL! They even commented that they didn't like the way the mother dressed!
Well, Jackson has this multi-million dollar child-trap all baited and set--it WILL happen again, and chances aren't that slight that a relative of these jurors could be a future "special friend." Especially the Hispanic jurors: he seems to prefer those little boys.
And we are supposed to take this verdict seriously? People who can barely construct a coherent sentence and who focus on trivialities such as somone snapping their fingers or dressing poorly?????? People who admit that they think Jackson is a molester but find him not guilty anyway????? These jurors are obviously morons. If this is what the average American actually IS like, then the country is lost.
If only the mother showed up in Court in her pajamas!
Naive works too...I use Native Californian as a description of somebody who is a "native", grew up here, lived here entire life.Just a generalization...obviously there are a lot of solid decent people who live out here, but there are WAY too many airheads!
Michael Jackson is the biggest, most visible, most obvious child molester in this country, if not in the entire world. He has even ADMITTED PUBLICLY that he sleeps with little boys in the same bed. What do people think he's doing with those kids? If Michael Jackson cannot be convicted of pedophilia, than how can anyone else? Take the laws off the books, there is no point in having laws that the people will not uphold through jury decisions.
Yes, I was struck by how they criticized the mother's fashion sense, yet the clown-faced, pyjama-wearing, fake-nosed Jackson is ok?
Yeah, totally!
NAMBLA must be celebrating every bit as much as Jackson and his fans.
I agree with you. It's so easy to say the jurors were "stupid," etc. But they had a job to do and it appears that they did it.
Unfortunately, this jury couldn't see past their -- quite justified -- dislike of the victim's mother. MJ now has a free pass to molest boys for the rest of his life. I feel sorry for his children, especially "Blanket," who has NO MOTHER. I am betting that this child was born of an egg donor who signed away her rights prior to conception. Thus, there is no second parent or maternal relatives to challenge Jackson's parenting decisions.
EXACTLY. He's a text book case of how to handle these kinds of cases. First you select your victims from chaotic, crazed, dysfunctional kinds of families - because who's going to believe those kids anyway, or even care if they are molested?? Then if you're "caught" sleeping with these kids in the same bed, you just say you're some kind of Peter Pan who never grew up and it's all really innocent. Just be sure to do it in Calif where you can buy the families and the jurors and some bunch of morons are bound to believe you. How on earth can anyone be convicted of child molestation in this country if Michael Jackson, who has publicly admitted to sleeping with these kids, is freed?
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