quote:
Juror: Jackson 'Probably' A Molester'The Man's Innocent,' Jackson's Lawyer Says
POSTED: 10:10 am CDT June 13, 2005
UPDATED: 11:40 pm CDT June 13, 2005
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- One of the jurors who acquitted Michael Jackson on all counts said he believes the pop star is "probably" a molester, but the prosecution didn't prove it.
In an interview on CNN, juror Raymond Hultman questioned the way Jackson has shared his bedroom and bed with young boys. Hultman said "that doesn't make sense" to him.
But, he said, that didn't make Jackson guilty of the charges presented in this case.
Jackson is back home at his Neverland ranch after being found not guilty on all 10 counts in his molestation and conspiracy trial.
Jackson looked straight ahead as the not guilty verdict was read, vindicating the pop star who insisted he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta. The singer dabbed at his eyes while hearing the court clerk announce his acquittal on all counts.
One of Jackson's lawyers burst into tears as the verdict was announced. He later got hugs from her and from head lawyer Thomas Mesereau.
Jurors also acquitted Jackson of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at his storybook estate. It was a total legal victory for Jackson and his defense team.
Screams of joy rang out among a throng of fans outside the courthouse as the not guilty verdict was read on the final charge. Jackson had been facing a possible sentence of more than 18 years in prison.
The jury heard some 14 weeks of testimony, then deliberated for more than 30 hours.
Jackson appeared stone-faced as he began to walk out of the courthouse, flanked by sisters LaToya and Janet. His brother, Jermaine, could be seen smiling while waiting for him to exit.
Jackson held a hand out in front of him in a mini-wave while being escorted to his vehicle by security guards
As the screams from supporters grew louder, Jackson touched his heart twice and waved again before blowing a kiss to the crowd. He was then put into his black SUV before his caravan drove away -- chased by some fans.
"This proves that justice can prevail in America," one fan said.
"We love you Michael!" shouted Tara Bardella, 19, who was in the crowd outside the courthouse.
Cheers of "innocent" erupted outside the courthouse after the verdicts were read. More than 300 anxious fans and onlookers had waited for the verdicts outside the courthouse in Santa Maria. They chanted "innocent" in unison as they pressed against a chain link fence that served as a barrier.
Some waved signs that read "Keep Michael Free" and stood atop stepladders to get a better look.
Jurors in the Jackson trial are hoping it's from here to obscurity for them.
After the innocent verdicts were announced, the judge read a statement from the jury that said: "We the jury feel the weight of the world's eyes upon us." The jurors asked to be allowed to return to "our private lives as anonymously as we came."
AP Photo
A Michael Jackson fan outside the Santa Maria, Calif., courthouse reacts to the singer's not guilty verdict.
The jurors did meet with reporters after the trial. One juror said the process of reaching a verdict was simple -- they all "just looked at the evidence and pretty much agreed" that Michael Jackson was innocent.
The jurors who acquitted the singer on all counts said they made it a point from the beginning to look at Jackson as an ordinary person, not a star. They said from there, it was easier to deal with the case.
They said the intense media glare on the case didn't make them uncomfortable. What did make one juror uncomfortable was the mother of Jackson's accuser.
Juror No. 5 said she remembered the woman snapping her fingers at the jury. The juror said she thought to herself, "Don't snap your fingers at me, lady."
Another juror said she wonders why the accuser was allowed to stay with Jackson so long -- saying no mother "in her right mind" would let her child just go off and sleep with someone, Michael Jackson or anyone else.
Jackson, 46, had been charged with conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion, three counts of committing lewd acts upon a child, one count of attempted lewd acts upon a child, and four counts of administering intoxicating agents to assist in the commission of a felony.
Mesereau said justice was done in the case.
"The man's innocent. He always was," Mesereau said in a statement on a Jackson Web site.
bron
"Ik voel dat ze medelijden met me hebben, ik zou hun willen zeggen dat het niet mijn schuld is dat ik wreed geworden ben, we zijn allemaal wreed geworden."