# Do you think that Jackson is guilty or innocent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646 "2005-04-10T07:04:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/21 "2005-04-10T15:43:02Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he’s guilty, and I also agree that any parents who took the money and ran are, in reality, part of a conspiracy. What a sick, sick situation… ---
**Author:** ![wonderwench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/35a633/32.png) [@wonderwench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderwench)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/22 "2005-04-10T15:44:05Z")
I think he is guilty. But I don’t think he will be found guilty. OJ, Robert Blake…Jacko. There is a pattern. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/23 "2005-04-10T15:56:46Z")
My gut tells me that he’s guilty. I think that he probably will be found guilty. ---
**Author:** ![wonderwench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/35a633/32.png) [@wonderwench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderwench)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/24 "2005-04-10T15:59:05Z")
I hope you are right. The prosecution to date has not been as convincing as one would hope. ---
**Author:** ![Club\_33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/25 "2005-04-10T16:09:28Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Doesn’t anyone else find the fact that all of the prosecutions’s witnesses bear a grudge against Jackson strange? Including the prosecutor himself. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/26 "2005-04-10T16:20:49Z")
Many of the legal TV pundits I’ve heard have opined that Jackson is probably guilty, but that this is the wrong victim to try him for. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/27 "2005-04-10T16:56:11Z")
Guilty. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Have you heard the recent testimony? ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/28 "2005-04-10T16:57:25Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Doesn’t anyone else find the fact that all of the prosecutions’s witnesses bear a grudge against Jackson strange? Doesn’t every victim of crime bear a grudge against their perpetrator? ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/29 "2005-04-10T17:25:11Z")
> [@inkleberry](#): > > Doesn’t every victim of crime bear a grudge against their perpetrator? He meant grudges unrelated to the charges brought against MJ, and also, the people giving some “damning” testimony were not victims of his, but former employees. I’m with **ivylass** , and **Red Stilettos**. He doesn’t have a clue about healthy boundaries, but he’s hardly Chester the Molestor. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/30 "2005-04-10T17:28:32Z")
> [@](#): > > …I fail to see why, if this is an option, he hasn’t already done it. This is a major public relations disaster (impossible to fix, though a not guilty verdict would help) that could put him away for a very very long time. - **clayton\_e** - - - Because as I said, he’d _prefer_ to be exonerated in court without resorting to that–and why he likely wants to avoid the payoff is not for financial reasons. He can certainly afford it. - As to the “public relations disaster”, that’s what some people said the first time. And afterwards there were still parents willing to leave their children alone with him. What _]their_ motivations were is another question entirely, but they did it. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/31 "2005-04-10T17:35:52Z")
Guilty of all charges except, perhaps, keeping the family against their will–too many holes in that story. But otherwise, yep, guilty. And if he was an ordinary slob from da Bronx or (fill in your location) he’d have been in jail twelve years ago. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/32 "2005-04-10T18:49:20Z")
Based on what I’ve seen so far, I think he’s probably guilty. He fits a textbook description of a pedophile so closely that it’s downright eerie, and the evidence seems plausible despite the best efforts of the best lawyers money can buy. I think that, if it were not for his privileged position as Eccentric Pop Star, he would have been stopped a long time ago. I do pity him. It’s obvious that he’s severely mentally ill in a number of different ways, and that he’s getting worse every year. I think that any plastic surgeon who worked on him in the last five years or so should have their medical license revoked. I think that he probably doesn’t understand why his sexual relationships with these kids is wrong, and thinks of himself as an innocent soul misunderstood by the world. I think that, in the end, the jury will find him guilty, too. But I’m not positive. He has awfully good lawyers. I think that he cannot be placed in the general population of a prison (that would be equivalent to a death sentence, and a reasonable judge will see that easily). I think that no sentence will be appropriate which does not include a requirement of lots and lots of treatment by a psychiatrist, or a team of them. If it’s at all possible, I’d love to see him punished, but also helped to attain some level of sanity, so that he can understand what he did, feel the appropriate remorse for it, and not repeat it. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/33 "2005-04-10T19:52:42Z")
That’s a great post. Yes, while I also think he’s guilty, I also think he needs a lot of help. No, not the kind that can make him French Fries at 2 in the morning, a doctor, and not the rhinoplasty kind. OTOH, that’s a lot of lives he’s messed up. Sentencing is up to the judge, and since I also think MJ doesn’t / can’t understand that what he did was wrong (although his lawyers thru the years sure did!) he won’t be “showing remorse” for his actions, which will go against him in the sentence phase. Judges don’t like it when the convicted stand up and blame society/ex-whatevers/racism/the cops etc. Inability to take responsibility for one’s actions (as opposed to a dignified statement of innocence) tends to get you locked up for a longer time, as I suppose the judge wants to keep someone like that off the streets longer. We’ll see. I must confess I have been following this trial with an avidity that startles me at times; what it says about celebrity, money, hero-worship, etc. is fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/34 "2005-04-10T19:57:20Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - In spite of all that, I do not believe he will go to jail for it. Jackson _wants_ to win in court in the usual way–but if the trial starts to look real bad for him, he will pull the “Kobe Bryant” maneuver, where he takes out his wallet and start settling out of court, in exchange for people refusing to testify. No testimony==mistrial. > ~ That tactic won’t work for him twice. Its precisely because he squeaked out of the previous case against him that they [changed the law in California](http://aboutmichaeljackson.com/m-news+article+storyid-12.html). > [@](#): > > Yesterday I also referenced a legislative change enacted in direct response to the 1993-94 investigation. That section is Civil Code section 1669.5. The practical effect of the legislation is to give the District Attorney the ability to intervene in any civil settlement calculated to remove from the victim of an unlawful sex act the financial incentive not to cooperate. -Thomas W. Sneddon, Jr. I didn’t know this before I looked up the above cite, but apparently his previous case caused them to change [another law](http://www.handelonthelaw.com/news_details.aspx?News=362&Date=1/1/2005) in California. > [@](#): > > California Evidence Code 1108, amended the California Evidence laws that year to admit evidence of past sexual offenses in order to help prove allegations of current sexual offenses - even if the defendant has never been actually convicted in the past. I guess this is to help establish a pattern of criminal behavior. Anyway, I say guilty. And I believe that his “child-like” persona is a calculated facade. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/35 "2005-04-10T20:46:49Z")
Well I’ll split hairs. I think he is a Pedophile. That is I think he enjoys, sexually, contact and being around children. I am not sure he has 100% come to terms with this. That is, I am not sure he knows/admits this to himself. Hence the American Beauty-like horror at the “disgusting allegations” and then jumping right back to bed with Junior first chance he gets. However, having said this, I am not sure if he has actually acted on this predilection. If he has, it still would not surprise me to find out that he hadn’t actually molested the boy in question. My “take” FWIW is supported by Cory Feldman, McCauley Culkin and Webster who all had icky man-boy relationships with him and report that he didn’t molest them despite ample opportunity to do so. OTOH of the 3 folks who report they had been molested 2 boys who received financial settlements & I doubt even the strongest proponent of hanging Jackson TODAY has any serious doubt that the current family is slavering over a multi-million $$ settlement. I am not saying I am positive about all this. I am saying that my read on the situation leads me to believe he is a pedophile or has pedophilic tendencies but I am not sure he is a molester. BTW if he does go to jail he won’t be allowed make-up or a wig – I wonder how he will look? I wonder if he will go or flee to Tahiti or kill himself? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/36 "2005-04-10T22:09:46Z")
> [@FisherQueen](#): > > I think that any plastic surgeon who worked on him in the last five years or so should have their medical license revoked. Unless they were trying to fix the mess caused by previous surgeries (ie: re-attaching his nose). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/37 "2005-04-10T23:10:25Z")
I don’t know whether Jackson is actually innocent or guilty; I do know that he’s presumed innocent until proven guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Club\_33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/38 "2005-04-10T23:54:22Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I don’t know whether Jackson is actually innocent or guilty; I do know that he’s presumed innocent until proven guilty. A concept so easily swept aside. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/39 "2005-04-11T01:16:00Z")
> [@Pullet](#): > > He’s had children, so he’s comfortable with sex on some philosophical level. > > I think he’s a freak who has gotten more attention and money during his life than he ever wanted or deserved. > > And I am horrified that he has replicated. If there was ever a compelling reason for abortion. His kid’s only hope is that he either dies or goes to jail so they can be raised by more stable surrogates. What, you honestly believe those are his biological children? He’s guilty. Guilty, guilty, guilty. I’ve been following the case (it’s like a really, really bad soap opera! I can’t stop!) and there’s way too much there for him NOT to be a pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![kezami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@kezami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kezami)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646/40 "2005-04-11T01:32:12Z")
The latest testimony from a former guard at Neverland is especially damning. Jacko’s going to have a tough time moonwalking out of this one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-that-jackson-is-guilty-or-innocent/298646.md?page=3)