# Michael Jackson Verdict Reached!!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [June 13, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130 "2005-06-13T19:29:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 10
### Author:  [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/181 "2005-06-13T22:40:11Z")
> [@Jack Batty](#):
>
> Jackson must be pretty damned excited.
> Betcha he gets laid tonight.
Oh god, don’t even joke about that.
Seriously, I fear for MJ’s kids.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/182 "2005-06-13T22:42:09Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#):
>
> Not in child molestations cases they don’t. Some things are just too devastating to a reputation and a career.
So, which do you think got more bad press – that settlement, or the circus that this trial was?
Anyway, quite apart from the jury’s instruction to consider this case on its own merits, the jury knew that the mother in that case consulted a lawyer about a civil case before going to police, which seems a bit questionable.
The evidence in this case was not strong enough to convict. So he wasn’t convicted. It’s the way things are supposed to work.
I wouldn’t let any kid of mine sleep in the same bed as an adult male friend of the family, and that whole thing definitely raises my eyebrows.
That said, it’s not evidence that he’s a molester.
My sister constantly maligns her ex-husband as a probable kiddy-diddler because he and his wife “co-sleep” with their juvenile daughter. “Of course he’s fucking her!”
In actuality, he’s a much better parent than she is, by any reckoning.
Sleeping in the same bed with a kid who’s not related is considerably more peculiar than co-sleeping with your own children, but it’s not evidence of kiddy-diddling, either.
Some people like to sleep with a bedful of dogs. I think it’s weird. I don’t think it means they must necessarily be doing it for sexual gratification, though.
> [@GIGOBuster](#):
>
> I was expecting that at least he was going to be punished for giving alcohol to minors, you mean that that was not one of the charges?
It might have stuck if anyone outside of the Bunko family testified that they’d seen him do it.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/183 "2005-06-13T22:43:09Z")
[Here you go, **Rilch**.](http://www.people.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15620631%26method=full%26siteid=55768%26headline=jacko%2d%2dlet%2dme%2dplay%2dat%2dlive%2d8-name_page.htm)
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### Author:  [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/184 "2005-06-13T22:47:01Z")
Thank you. Well, I hope this is the beginning of the end—no one wanting to touch him with a bargepole. The fact that it’s Brit and not Yank promoters turning him down gives me hope.
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### Author:  [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/185 "2005-06-13T22:48:39Z")
I hope Bob Geldof tells MJ to eat shit and bark at the moon.
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### Author:  [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/186 "2005-06-13T22:49:50Z")
Betcha MJ goes out to celebrate at a nice restaurant, like Chuck E. Cheese, so he can offer the little kids a bite of his pie.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/187 "2005-06-13T22:50:07Z")
> [@Jack Batty](#):
>
> Betcha he gets laid tonight.
Who’s the (un)lucky boy? 😃
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### Author:  [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/188 "2005-06-13T22:54:38Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> He fits the profile… …TO A TEE.
So did Richard Jewel. That didn’t make him, _in fact_, a murderous bomber. Profile =! Fact.
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### Author:  [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/189 "2005-06-13T22:59:06Z")
Here’s something that’s been bugging me since 1993. We know that Jackson has admitted to sharing his bed with dozens, if not hundreds, of young boys. During all that time, only TWO kids have accused him of sexual abuse, and both of them were clearly driven by their parents. Why hasn’t anyone else come forward, also claiming to be an MJ molestation victim?
Whenever one of these high-profile sex abuse cases hits the press, it seems like other victims come right out of the woodwork claiming they were also abuses. I’m talking about cases like the Clinton thing and the accusations levied against Schwarzenegger during the recall election. Heck, the McMartin case from decades ago had something like 1,000 kids and parents claiming abuse. But MJ? Nada. Zip. Is really that successful at convincing his victims to keep silent? Or…perish the thought…maybe he NEVER REALLY DID ANYTHING!!!
Oh, in case anyone’s interested…I did some creative Googling and came up with some photos from that book [“The Boy”](http://www.xs4all.nl/~johnie/jpptb.htm) you were all talking about. There is some nudity (two-click rule observed) but nothing that appears remotely illegal. It might be the wrong book, though – the photos have nothing at all to do with _Lord of the Flies_.
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### Author:  [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/190 "2005-06-13T23:03:49Z")
I’m with **KGS** on this one - I’ve never thought that MJ was guilty of anything other than exceptionally bad judgement, and they don’t put you in jail for that.
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### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/191 "2005-06-13T23:05:57Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#):
>
> Not me. I don’t really care if he molested kittens or hand-fed squirming baby chicks to half-crazed-with-hunger orphans. What he may/may not have done later doesn’t–for me–affect his _Thriller_ album. Reasonable people might disagree about whether the music was good based on its quality, but I don’t feel his actions after the album’s release should influence that judgement.
I gotta agree with this.
It is an outstanding album and it is so bizarre that the man who did it is now some freakazoid characaticure.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/192 "2005-06-13T23:12:12Z")
> [@KGS](#):
>
> It might be the wrong book, though – the photos have nothing at all to do with _Lord of the Flies_.
Whoops, sorry-- I thought the entire book was _Lord of the Flies_ shots. It’s only [one section](http://johnie.boyhoodparadise.com/theboy/jpptb-list.html).
> [@](#):
>
> Photographer: Ken Heyman, U.S.A. Location: Vieques Is. P R.
>
> (All pictures in this section were taken on location during the shooting of the film “Lord of the Flies”.)
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### Author:  [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/193 "2005-06-13T23:26:42Z")
The verdict was fair. I’m not saying that Jackson is innocent, but there’s no way I’d convict anyone of molestation based on that weak-ass case. I might have convicted him of one of the misdemeanor alcohol charges (furnishing alcohol to a person under 21) but certainly not any of the felonies. Incidentally, I’ve been on a jury before. Felony murder and armed robbery. It’s serious work, and I’m sure that the jurors thought long and hard about their verdict.
Yes, Jacko’s wierd and creepy, but that’s not evidence of any crime, and all the wierdness and creepiness and babbling by psychologists about profiles doesn’t change the fact that there was no physical evidence, and the only witnesses were of a highly questionable caliber. (We had some of those in my case. Jailhouse witnesses who had been offered deals in exchange for their testimony. One of them actually admitted to us that he’d lie under oath if it benefitted him. Not surprisingly, we gave these guys zero credibility.) Really, there’s no other verdict that would be consistent with the evidence.
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### Author:  [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/194 "2005-06-13T23:27:58Z")
What the fuck makes you people think he’s guilty? Christ I love how the standards of proof change according to the issue. Personally, I suspected Jackson was innocent and would be found so. I shorted his “Found Guilty” contracts on TradeSports and had a good payday.
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### Author:  [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/195 "2005-06-13T23:35:34Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> One member of the jury was bitching about the mother snapping her fingers. “Don’t you snap your fingers at me, lady.” Apparently the one with the book deal.
>
> Stupid hag, you don’t base your choice on THAT.
I don’t recall her saying that she based her decision on that. She was asked for her opinion of the mother and she gave it. Do you have a cite that she based her decision on the finger snap?
Right after the prosecution rested, I recall Robert Shapiro commenting that it was the worst prosecution of a case that he had ever witnessed. That was my feeling too, based on the evidence presented. I kept waiting for a smoking gun and it never appeared. It was all circumstantial, the accusers word vs Jacksons. Then the credibility of the mother was destroyed, the accuser was caught in a couple of lies, and people who were supposed to testify how awful a person he was, said the opposite on the stand. I’m not sure the defense needed to present a case.
I’m not going to deny that MJ is about the most eccentric person one could ever encounter. I’m not going to deny that his habits concerning children disturb me. I’m certainly not going to deny that he has issues and probably needs treatment for them.
Still, if you are going to convict someone of a henious crime like child molestation, one that for all intensive purposes could mean a death penalty by way of his fellow inmates, you damn well better be sure before you convict. I think that the defense presented plenty of reasonable doubt. Not doubt that he is weird or even a pedophile, but that he committed a crime.
The jury saw all of the evidence, heard all of the testimony. They deliberated for 7 days. I trust in their verdict.
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/196 "2005-06-13T23:39:41Z")
> [@Club 33](#):
>
> The jury saw all of the evidence, heard all of the testimony. They deliberated for 7 days. I trust in their verdict.
Yes. I’m pleased to see that the American court system sets higher standards than the court of public opinion which we use in deciding whether to go to war.
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### Author:  [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/197 "2005-06-13T23:40:33Z")
Wow, four pages already…
Who else here thinks Jacko is going to pull a Roman Polansky and exile himself abroad? They said on the news earlier that he’s much more popular in Europe and Asia than he is here. He could conceivably have a better life someplace where he hasn’t been tried by the court of public opinion.
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### Author:  [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/198 "2005-06-13T23:42:12Z")
We’re all going to Chuck E Cheese tonight with Michael to celebrate!
Bring an empty Coke can if you want some wine or beer!
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/199 "2005-06-13T23:42:18Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#):
>
> I shorted his “Found Guilty” contracts on TradeSports and had a good payday.
Is this a great country or what!!??
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### Author:  [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-verdict-reached/308130/200 "2005-06-13T23:48:32Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#):
>
> Let’s also not forget that Jackson once payed another victim 20 million bucks to go away. Innocent people don’t do that.
While I personally think that Jackson is G-U-I-L-T-Y guilty, this argument is a crock. People pay to make problems go away all the time out of a pragmatic calculation that it’s the path of least resistance.
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