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Jury's verdict on Jackson: NOT GUILTY
King of Pop is acquitted on all counts: "Justice is done," says his lawyer
By DAWN HOBBS and SCOTT HADLY
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITERS
An exhausted and emotional Michael Jackson left the Santa Maria courthouse Monday a free man after jurors in his child molestation and conspiracy trial found him not guilty on all counts.
Surrounded by his family, his bodyguards and his defense team, Mr. Jackson blew a few kisses to his fans and placed his hand over his heart while he walked to a waiting black Yukon with tinted windows that returned him to Neverland Valley Ranch and his three children.
As a clutch of white doves and balloons drifted into the sky, his lead defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau, said, "Justice has been done."
The verdicts, broadcast live around the world, ended an intense seven days of deliberations in one of the most widely followed trials in recent times. It brings to a close a trial with unprecedented secrecy, bizarre testimony and unexpected twists through the final moments of the case, which drew media from Iceland to Peru.
The pressure from the 72 days of trial took its toll on the 46-year-old entertainer, who lost weight, suffered from stress-induced back pain and sought medical care on at least five occasions during the proceedings.
In the courtroom before the verdicts were read, Mr. Jackson, dressed in a black suit and tie with his hair parted in the middle, sat rigid during an excruciating 10-minute silence as Judge Rodney Melville ripped open envelopes containing the verdicts. The entertainer was charged with 10 counts, including four counts of molestation, one attempted molestation charge, four counts of administering an intoxicating substance to a minor and one charge of conspiracy.
As court clerk Lorna Frey uttered "not guilty" on the most serious charges, Mr. Jackson dabbed away tears. Co-defense counsel Susan Yu silently sobbed, and Mr. Mesereau patted the entertainer on his knee while Robert Sanger whispered into the singer's ear.
At the prosecution table, District Attorney Thomas Sneddon and Senior Deputy District Attorneys Ron Zonen and Gordon Auchincloss sat silent, appearing to lose the color in their faces.
From the beginning, Mr. Jackson has maintained that he would be vindicated.
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AT A GLANCE
THE VERDICT:
Michael Jackson is found not guilty on all 10 felongy counts of the indictment against him. THE JURY:
The North County residnets - eight women and four men - deliberated for about 32 hours over seven days before returning their unanimous verdict. THE DEFENSE REACTION:
"Justice has been served," said his lawyer Thomas Mesereau, leader of the entertainer's defense team.
WHAT'S NEXT:
Mr. Jackson is free to resume his career.
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His defense lawyers have insisted the allegations were created after the accuser's mother failed to get money from the entertainer. They accused the family of being liars and grifters.
Prosecutors had adamantly maintained that Mr. Jackson is a serial pedophile who lured adolescent boys to Neverland Valley Ranch for more than a decade in an effort to seduce them.
Prosecutors also alleged that Mr. Jackson and his associates conspired to hold the boy and his family against their will until they agreed to participate in a video designed to combat the public relations nightmare created by a British documentary. In "Living with Michael Jackson," the entertainer is shown holding hands with the boy who would later become his accuser, as he states that he innocently shares his bed with children.
Prosecutors also accused Mr. Jackson of molesting the boy, then 13, at Neverland the week before the family left the ranch on March 12, 2003, after a monthlong stay.
After the verdict, Mr. Sneddon said he would not second-guess the jury. He brushed off the suggestion that he shouldn't have proceeded with the case because of the credibility problems of the accuser and his family. Prosecutors have an obligation to investigate and prosecute victim's claims they feel are credible, Mr. Sneddon said.
MIKE ELIASON/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson's father, waves to supporters as he and his son enter the courthouse for the reading of the verdicts.
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"We don't go out and select victims," he said. "We don't look at their pedigree."
Despite the defense contention that Mr. Sneddon was an overzealous, vindictive prosecutor who was upset that his 1993 case against the entertainer fell apart, he said his decision to go forward with this case had nothing to do with the prior one.
"My past history with Mr. Jackson had absolutely, unequivocally, nothing to do with our evaluation of this particular case," Mr. Sneddon said.
He said he was proud of his prosecution team and the investigators who worked on the case. Asked if he thought Mr. Jackson's celebrity status was a factor in the decision, Mr. Sneddon said it might have had something to do with it.
"It seems so to us," he said. "But maybe we're just looking for explanations."
Mr. Zonen, who made the closing arguments for prosecutors, said he contacted the accuser's family and spoke with them briefly after the verdict.
"They're disappointed, but they understood it was a possibility," he told the News-Press. "They're facing it and accepting this verdict. They understand what happened and intend to get on with their lives. They have no intention of suing Mr. Jackson. They never did."
Jurors simply didn't believe the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, Mr. Zonen concluded.
"It's a different factor when you deal with this kind of notoriety, and the defense outspent us," he said. "(The defense) put millions of dollars into this. They did an investigation of the victim's mother that they don't do on Supreme Court justices."
Jurors said their decision had nothing to do with Mr. Jackson's fame.
"The first thing we decided is that we needed to look at him like any other individual and not a celebrity," said jury foreman Paul Rodriguez, a 63-year-old retired community college instructor.
In a postverdict news conference, the jurors said their decision came down to the standard of reasonable doubt, the credibility of the accuser and his family, and a lack of corroborating evidence.
"We were required to look at very specific counts in this case, and one of those was not whether Mr. Jackson was guilty of sharing his bed with boys or had adult material in the home," said juror Raymond Hultman, a 62-year-old retired engineer.
After the news conference, Mr. Hultman said on CNN's "Larry King Live" that he believed Mr. Jackson probably has molested boys in the past, but that prosecutors didn't prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
"I will sleep well. I mean, I don't think I lost any of my convictions. I, I feel that Michael Jackson probably has molested boys. I cannot believe that, after some of the testimony was offered, I can't believe that this man could sleep in the same bedroom for 365 straight days and not do something more than just watch television and eat popcorn," Mr. Hultman said. "I mean, that doesn't make sense to me, but that doesn't make him guilty of the charges that were presented in this case, and that's where we had to make our decision."
It was clear that the case had weighed heavily on the 12 jurors and eight alternates, who represented a cross-section of the North County. Many said the case had kept them up at night but that they were proud of their decision.
When news that the jury had reached a verdict spread through the crowd outside, fans began chanting "Michael's innocent."
But when Mr. Jackson arrived an hour later, the crowd hushed as he walked into the courtroom to await the decision.
The courtroom was packed with media and fans, some of whom were wiping away anxious tears while others prayed. Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville said he would not tolerate any reaction when the verdicts were read: "Anyone who acts out will be removed from the courtroom. This is a court of law, and this will be handled with dignity."
Nearly a dozen sheriff's deputies stood guard.
Mr. Jackson's family looked somber and silent. Tito Jackson put his arm around his mother, Katherine, who had been in the courtroom every day of the lengthy trial. Her husband, Joe, sat on her other side, and Michael Jackson's siblings Reebie, LaToya and Randy sat in front of her.
Jurors filed into the courtroom at 2 p.m., most straight-faced, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The quiet was interrupted only by the judge slowly ripping open the 10 envelopes containing the jury's verdict on each count.
Randy Jackson put his arm around LaToya Jackson when the envelopes were handed to the court clerk to be read aloud. As it became clear that Mr. Jackson was found not guilty on the most serious molestation charges, the entertainer, his mother and his sister LaToya began to cry. The emotion of the moment also overcame several fans and several jurors.
After the verdicts were read, Judge Melville thanked jurors for their service and encouraged them to speak with the media at a news conference. Before stepping down from the bench, the judge looked directly at the entertainer and said, "Mr. Jackson, your bail is exonerated and you are loose."
Mr. Jackson hugged his lawyers, who then shook hands with one another. The prosecution filed out of the courtroom without comment.
The entertainer walked out into the harsh afternoon sun appearing relieved but somewhat shocked.
"I have had the privilege of representing Michael Jackson since all of this started back in 1993," Mr. Sanger told the News-Press on Monday evening. "And it all culminated in this horrible criminal trial. Michael came in with a great deal of courage and dignity and sat there through an extremely lengthy trial. And he sat there with courage and dignity today listening to that verdict come in. . . . It's finally over -- after 12 years of being subjected to these awful allegations.
"He really is a very kind and gentle man who is a musical genius. I'm hoping this will all get put behind him and that he'll be recognized for his work and his music. That's how I really feel." e-mail: dhobbs@newspress.com, shadly@newspress.com
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