Post by Slim K team on Jun 14, 2005 1:55:08 GMT -8
[glow=red,2,300]Michael Jackson jurors: Evidence 'just wasn't there'[/glow]
Pop star acquitted of all charges in molestation case ..
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Posted: 5:08 AM EDT (0908 GMT)/ courtesy of CNN
still the 'KING OF POP' Michael Jackson
SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- A stoic Michael Jackson walked out of court acquitted by jurors who said they didn't have enough evidence to convict him of molestation charges that could have sent him to prison for years.
Jackson made no comment -- and didn't even smile -- as he left the Santa Maria courthouse after the verdict Monday, surrounded by his parents and siblings.
He did wave and blow kisses to hundreds of supporters, who screamed, hugged one another and threw confetti when they heard the news -- some of them overcome with tears of joy.
Jackson's brother, Jermaine, told CNN's "Larry King Live" his family was "very, very happy."
"Like we always felt from the very beginning and knew, he was one thousand percent innocent," he said. "It takes one person to tell the truth, but it takes many to concoct a lie."
Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy two years ago when they were sleeping alone together in his bed at Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County. (Verdict list)
The jury acquitted Jackson on 10 counts:
Four counts of committing a lewd act with a child.
One count of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child younger than 14.
One count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment, extortion and child abduction.
Four counts of providing alcohol to a minor to facilitate child molestation.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, who sat grim-faced as the court clerk read out the verdicts, later told reporters he would accept the decision.
"In 37 years [as a prosecutor], I've never quarreled with a jury's verdict, and I'm not going to start today," he said.
Asked if he thought the jury had just acquitted a child molester, Sneddon said, "No comment."
Jackson's lead defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., told reporters on his way out of the courthouse that "justice was done."
"The man's innocent. He always was," Mesereau said.
for the complete article, GO TO www.cnn.com!
below the direct link!
www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/14/jackson.trial/index.html
Pop star acquitted of all charges in molestation case ..
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Posted: 5:08 AM EDT (0908 GMT)/ courtesy of CNN
still the 'KING OF POP' Michael Jackson
SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- A stoic Michael Jackson walked out of court acquitted by jurors who said they didn't have enough evidence to convict him of molestation charges that could have sent him to prison for years.
Jackson made no comment -- and didn't even smile -- as he left the Santa Maria courthouse after the verdict Monday, surrounded by his parents and siblings.
He did wave and blow kisses to hundreds of supporters, who screamed, hugged one another and threw confetti when they heard the news -- some of them overcome with tears of joy.
Jackson's brother, Jermaine, told CNN's "Larry King Live" his family was "very, very happy."
"Like we always felt from the very beginning and knew, he was one thousand percent innocent," he said. "It takes one person to tell the truth, but it takes many to concoct a lie."
Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy two years ago when they were sleeping alone together in his bed at Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County. (Verdict list)
The jury acquitted Jackson on 10 counts:
Four counts of committing a lewd act with a child.
One count of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child younger than 14.
One count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment, extortion and child abduction.
Four counts of providing alcohol to a minor to facilitate child molestation.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, who sat grim-faced as the court clerk read out the verdicts, later told reporters he would accept the decision.
"In 37 years [as a prosecutor], I've never quarreled with a jury's verdict, and I'm not going to start today," he said.
Asked if he thought the jury had just acquitted a child molester, Sneddon said, "No comment."
Jackson's lead defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., told reporters on his way out of the courthouse that "justice was done."
"The man's innocent. He always was," Mesereau said.
for the complete article, GO TO www.cnn.com!
below the direct link!
www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/14/jackson.trial/index.html