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Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Tue Jun 14, 2005 at 09:19:41 PM EST
Tags: Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson Trial (all tags)
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We give the last word on the Michael Jackson verdict to Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, who hilariously takes apart the media and legal analysts covering the Michael Jackson trial. Crooks and Liars has the video.

Second to the last word- for the best take on the verdict by a legal analyst -- goes to CBS's Andrew Cohen, and his column You Just Had to Be There in Court.

You had to see what a punk the alleged victim seemed like on the witness stand and how shaky the core of his testimony was. You had to see how delusional his mother seemed and how much her testimony lacked in credibility.

....You had to see how defense attorneys ran rings around prosecutors. You had to count how many times prosecution witnesses testified to facts that helped Jackson. You had to note how often both prosecution and defense witnesses told jurors that they had not been interviewed by law enforcement officials prior to the start of the case.

....He was acquitted because the witnesses against him were among the worst I have ever seen in a court.

Even though neither you nor I would ever let our children near him, Jackson is free today because it is not against the law to sleep in a bed with young boys. If you are angry with these jurors, don't be. Rest assured that as a group they were perfectly willing to send Jackson off to jail until he'd be eligible for Social Security. The case against Jackson was so bad that even you would have acquitted him based solely upon the evidence. Yes, it was that bad.

More from Andrew here:

Jackson is free because there was no physical evidence against him and very little compelling eyewitnesses to his alleged crimes. He is free because his lawyers were much, much better than prosecutors. And he is free because he faced one of the weakest criminal cases I have ever seen.

....Jackson is free because Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon backed the wrong stable of horses. Putting his personal reputation on the line in this case, the old-school prosecutor endorsed the testimony of a family that he might have instead sought to indict. Sneddon knew or should have known long before trial that the accuser and his mother had terrible reliability and credibility problems; he knew or should have known that they would come off as shady to jurors; and he knew or should have known that Jackson's lead attorney, Thomas Mesereau, would skewer them on the witness stand. Why he picked this family, above all the other families whom he believes also were molested by Jackson, is beyond me. If Sneddon just took his last best shot at Jackson it was a feeble volley indeed.

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    Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#1)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:02 PM EST
    My last words about jackson is, stop it you are going to Hell, or you will come down with AIDS, Both would be justice, but sadly Hell and justice are both myth.

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#2)
    by Andreas on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:02 PM EST
    In objective terms, the jury’s decision to acquit Jackson represents a stinging rebuke to the vindictive prosecution, led by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon and supported by all the attack dogs of the ultra-right. The verdict to reject even the lesser charges, whether the eight women and four men on the jury were fully conscious of the fact or not, stands as an indictment of the fraudulent and malicious character of the prosecution’s case. The jury decision came in the face as well of a series of decisions by Judge Rodney Melville that favored the district attorney. Jackson’s acquittal, moreover, stands as an indictment of the foul role played by the American mass media, which legitimized and sought to bolster the case against the singer. The verdict stunned many of the media pundits, who have done everything in their power to stigmatize and demonize Jackson over the past 18 months.
    The Michael Jackson verdict By David Walsh, 15 June 2005

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:02 PM EST
    A-freaking-men!!!

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#4)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:03 PM EST
    And now we get word today that the accuser, a kid, is having a terribly difficult time, wondering why nobody believed him. Tell him it was because of his mother. Go ahead. This child will now feel crazy for the rest of his life, just as I did when my testimony of abuse was discredited because I was deemed a mentally unstable child in a divorce court almost thirty years ago. There is nothing good here.

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#5)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:04 PM EST
    Dadler, my sincere sympathies. But don't you think the prosecutor, who has nothing on Inspector Javert in obsessive pursuit, shares some responsibility for the credibility problems?

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#6)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:04 PM EST
    Sailor, Just offering a personal story to play devil's advocate with. But I certainly agree about the prosecutor taking a share of the blame.

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:04 PM EST
    Add Sailor, Meant to also say I'm really only concerned about the kid at this point. Maybe he's the evil spawn of more evil parents, maybe he's just a little con-man, whatever, but...Jackson is an adult, well taken care of, so are the attorneys on both sides, even the kid's piece-of-work mom is fine (she's an adult too). This kid, whatever the "real" story is, remains a kid and a dependent and at the mercy of adults. And he seems to have been hardly the focus of anyone's real concern. And whatever tough start he'd already had has now been rendered infinitely tougher. That's just sad. But I dunno, could just be a little Kenneth Kimes in training.

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#8)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:05 PM EST
    Dadler, I see your point. It never matters which adult is at fault, ( and it is usually all of them;-), kids should have a better chance. My upbringing, in a home where I never doubted the love of my parents, had a roof over my head and plenty to eat, was rough to me. They fought a lot, alcohol was involved, and I was miserable. I literaly can't imagine what it was like for others. In hindsight, they were, in comparison, model parents. But I'm middle aged now and have never wanted to have children. If these are good parents, and they were the best parents they could be, what kind of fu@! up things could I do to my own kids?

    Re: Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:07 PM EST
    et al... The verdict stunned many of the media pundits, who have done everything in their power to stigmatize and demonize Jackson over the past 18 months. I think they were stunned because there was a lot of evidence to prove him guilty. As far as stigmatizing and demonizing Jackson...he did a good job of that himself. I'll ask 'the' question again. Is anybody ever quilty ...or are they all being railroaded by the government?

    Michael Jackson Verdict: The Last Word | 9 comments (9 topical)