No man is completely innocent.
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No man is completely innocent.
Hence the term "not guilty".
The O.J. Simpson acquittal in criminal court(he was found against and fined something like $30 million in civil court) was largely due to the incompetence of the judge and prosecution.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasquatch
I have to say, I think the prosecution messed up in this case, too. There is such a thing as "too many witnesses."
I honestly believe that Michael is disturbed in the head. So yeah, I'm glad he's not going to prison. But he should really seek mental help and he should be kept away from children, even his own.
It's kinda sad to see how far he's fallen.
Sasquatch this is a momentus occasion. The first time I have ever agreed with anything you have said. Must be a full moon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasquatch
I didn't pay enough attention to the fiasco to have a solid opinion on whether or not he was guilty, since I already know my children won't be visting Uncle Wacko Jacko. I'm glad he's not going to prison though. That would be like... sad. He's way too messed up for prison. He would probably just lay down and die.
I dunno if he's guilty or not, but he's unusual.
Yay.
I think it's easy for us to say "oh he's clearly guilty" but I think we should trust the jury. I highly doubt they let him slide because they like Thriller.
Here's the thing.
If he was found guilty on a significant number of charges, a lot of people would be making exactly the same complaints from the other side of the fence. There's no way the legal system could really have come out of this looking good, because many people would never accept 'guilty', and many people would not accept 'not guilty'.
I am, however, surprised he didn't even get the alchohol stuff.
Im with Shulup on this, and I dont quite get why mostly everyone here believes he is guilty, or were you all hoping for another Martha Stewert?
I didn't follow the trial, so my input doesn't really count for anything, but I don't think he is guilty of child molestation. (I dont know what else he was accused of though). Yeah, I think he's a creep, but I don't think he has molested anybody.
Exactly. The jury had the job of assessing all the evidence and deciding whether he was guilty or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by eestlinc
None of us have seen that evidence. All we've had to go on is the media hype, which is absolutely never reliable.
Now, I don't know whether Jackson was guilty or not. But a jury clearly decided that there was not proof beyond reasonable doubt that he was guilty. You can't send a man to prison with the eternal stigma of a criminal conviction, when there's still a reasonable doubt that he might be innocent.
People say he got off because he could afford good lawyers?
Pffft. The prosecution in this case was the United States Government, the biggest and most powerful body of its kind in the world. Besides, no lawyer can actually alter whether somebody was factually guilty of a crime or not. That's a common misconception.
Do *I* think he's guilty? I really don't know. There have been a lot of allegations, from a lot of sources, for a considerable period of time. But if a jury of honest, impartial Americans could not conclude that he was guilty, then I'm in no position to try to impose a different result.
Think about it this way... whether he's guilty or not, this trial has damaged his wealth, health and reputation - more than it would for any 'regular' person facing the same charges.
Whenever a court case is decided in a way that somebody disagrees with, they often say that it "makes a mockery of [country]'s justice system". I find this interesting: rather than accepting that results will not always favour them, they take this one result and hold it up as 'proof' that an entire establishment is fundamentally flawed. It happens all the time, no matter how a case is decided.
I want to make the sexist but true statement that if the moleste had not been a boy but a girl instead this whole trial would have been substanically different and maybe even found guilty just because it was a girl.
I bring this up because of how often a woman and get a guy in aload of trouble just by saying rape. It is almost always believed without any sort of proof. Look at the Kobe trial. Perfect example of what I am talking about.
I agree. With all the charges and all the accusations they must have been pretty sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by eestlinc
I personally never thought he was guilty, although I understand that I really don't and will never know, but I'm glad to see him get off.