[Aman]

Who cares if he did it or not? Even if he did, there was absolutely no possible means that they could have charged him on, because the prosecution was frivelously suing. It is good that there is some FAIR justice - after Scott Peterson, I thought our justice system was down the tube...

Honestly, how somebody can even THINK that they could convict this poor man on charges like this that were made frivelously... it just surprises me. Same with Scott Peterson - how they could have made a GUILTY verdict on just assumptions... ech.

Do I think that Michael Jackson did it? Maybe back in the eighties - and he probably should get charged for that - but he should have absolutely no charges put on him from this most recent case because of the obvious faking, acting, and con work going on.

 

[chillysalsa]

Well, ther is still one thing he is guilty of, and that is looking very feminine - yet creepy.

Left: MJ, Right: a female fan.

 

[TenaciousO]

You say feminine. I say alien.

 

[viator122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman Honestly, how somebody can even THINK that they could convict this poor man on charges like this that were made frivelously... it just surprises me. Same with Scott Peterson - how they could have made a GUILTY verdict on just assumptions... ech.

Just because a case isn't built with physical evidence and it is built with circumstantial evidence, doesn't make it frivolous. About the Jackson case, I agree, there's no way a jury could, in good conscience find him guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" - the prosecution was tripping over reasonable doubt the whole time. But with a case like Peterson, you have a whole lot of credible circumstantial evidence all piling up. Think about it, without circumstantial and indirect evidence how do you prosecute any child molestation case? How about a rape with no eyewitnesses (you know that hte first thing most raped women do is shower, right?)? Simple theft? If you required physical evidence and direct eyewitnesses to every crime prosecuted in this country, there would be a lot more free criminals on the street.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

for the tin foil hat wearers amongst us...

Go start your own forum. See how long it lasts without decent moderation.

Back to MJ.

Frankly, I don't know what to think about the guy. Just because someone is weird doesn't mean that criminal charges against them are true. However, given his frank admissions of desiring to sleep with boys, I have a hard time defending him. I don't think Sneddon was just trying to attack Jackson, I think that the D.A. was doing what D.A.'s do, using available evidence to bring charges against someone he genuinely thought was a criminal, though I don't know.

IMO, the only way MJ can go now is down, if he stays in the U.S. I suppose he stays in the L.A. area because of business contacts and recording opportunities, and partially because if he sold Neverland any proceeds would be seized to pay the money he owes (and apparently he owes a lot). If I were him, I would have bailed out of the U.S. and moved to France or somewhere long ago.

 

[AlanY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by viator122 Just because a case isn't built with physical evidence and it is built with circumstantial evidence, doesn't make it frivolous. About the Jackson case, I agree, there's no way a jury could, in good conscience find him guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" - the prosecution was tripping over reasonable doubt the whole time. But with a case like Peterson, you have a whole lot of credible circumstantial evidence all piling up. Think about it, without circumstantial and indirect evidence how do you prosecute any child molestation case? How about a rape with no eyewitnesses (you know that hte first thing most raped women do is shower, right?)? Simple theft? If you required physical evidence and direct eyewitnesses to every crime prosecuted in this country, there would be a lot more free criminals on the street.

It's not about needing physical evidence. There was just zero quality evidence in this case. On most of what the DA hoped to use, he simply didn't do his homework. He put former employees on the stand, claiming they saw Jackson molest specific children, without even bothering to interview the victims and see if they corroborated the story. Having Macaulay Culkin and the two others show up on the stand and claim they were never molested, even when the former employees had claimed they were, just destroyed the credibility of the DA's witnesses. Thousands of kids have passed through Neverland over the years, and yet the DA wasn't even able to find one more kid -- not even one -- who was willing to come forward during this trial and claim Jackson molested him/her. Then there was Debbie Rowe, who was called as a witness for the prosecution but ended up spending the whole time defending Jackson. The DA obviously didn't do his pretrial homework with her. And of course the mother of the plaintiff was totally unreliable based on her past history of embezzling money and claiming sexual assault by department store security guards.

Given the low quality of the evidence, I'm surprised the trial got as far as it did.

 

[viator122]

Reread my post - I said the Jackson trial was a joke. There were no credible witnesses.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

MJ Trial: Another Example Demonstrating That America's Justice System Does Not Work.

It is impossible to successfully prosecute a star.

-Matt

 

[perplex]

with a case like that, yeh

 

[eric343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek Actually, HeadFi is closely tied to their sources of money. Look at Ray Samuels, Eric of Audigeek, Headphile, etc etc. "Sponsors" more like business partners It's not something they like to admit, but in some ways HeadFi is a business organization like any other, and yes, there have been "conspiracies" of a sort, with people getting canned for simply voicing their opinion. With people getting canned for just selling a product or offering opinion about another product.

Sduibek,
While I may be a bit biased, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you. As someone who's given Jude a great deal of my hard-earned money over the years for the privilege of advertising on and sponsoring this forum, I've never seen anything to suggest that purchasing ad-space equates to buying in to a Mafia-esque consipracy.

Now, if you want to argue about moderators getting a bit cozier with manufacturers than decorum allows -- be my guest. But this is a community where friendships are to be expected, and it's not as if the audio industry in general is exactly free of cronyism.

 

[EyeAmEye]

They could have had him on videotape, it wouldn't have mattered. Then, he could have turned around and sold some copies to the perverts who let him off and use the cash to pay the lawyers. His wonderful fans would rejoice, because the videotape was obviously altered to make him appear guilty, the King of Pop is a saint, you know. Then they all sing "You Are Not Alone" and light some candles.

 

[zotjen]

I was watching Larry King earlier and he interviewed two of the jurors. Interestingly enough, they both believed that MJ has molested children in the past but felt that there wasn't enough evidence in this case to convict him.

Even though he wasn't being tried for past crimes but you do believe those crimes did occur, could you honestly let someone go free to possibly molest kids again? I know I wouldn't.

 

[PSmith08]

The only way they will ever convict Michael Jackson is if a normal, well-adjusted kid from a normal, upper-middle-class suburban family accuses him. Of course, kids like that don't hang around with Michael Jackson. They make fun of him. They make fun of his fans. The kids who are in a position to be abused, if there is abuse, are one with problems of one stripe or another. Mike offers them and their greedy parents money and luxury. It's pretty clear he demands total, unconditional, and unquestioning love in return. Until people stop sending their kiddies to his compound, Tom Sneddon will have all the ammunition he needs to go to trial. He might not win, but he'll get a winner sooner or later. Jackson has the worst boundaries of any 45 year old alive. Someone needs to keep him away from minors. Period.

 

[pne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EyeAmEye They could have had him on videotape, it wouldn't have mattered. Then, he could have turned around and sold some copies to the perverts who let him off and use the cash to pay the lawyers. His wonderful fans would rejoice, because the videotape was obviously altered to make him appear guilty, the King of Pop is a saint, you know. Then they all sing "You Are Not Alone" and light some candles.

that really makes absolutely no sense at all. Exactly what are you trying to say other than the obvious spiteful undertones about MJ?


MJ is obviously a troubled man, with some very serious issues leading back to his childhood, but I think it's tragic in that he is a by-product of the american way of life, and hollywood. Throw a young kid in the spotlight at an early age, mess up his childhood, put incredible stress on him everyday and take away the possibility of a normal life. Have him raised on the virtues of hollywood, what's beautiful and popular, and this is what you get. And then you have the masses shunning their own indirect creation, demanding he be sent to jail because of rumors and his physical appearance. Hearing people flame mj really shows me the ignorance and hypocrisy of society.

 

[EyeAmEye]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pne that really makes absolutely no sense at all. Exactly what are you trying to say other than the obvious spiteful undertones about MJ? MJ is obviously a troubled man, with some very serious issues leading back to his childhood, but I think it's tragic in that he is a by-product of the american way of life, and hollywood. Throw a young kid in the spotlight at an early age, mess up his childhood, put incredible stress on him everyday and take away the possibility of a normal life. Have him raised on the virtues of hollywood, what's beautiful and popular, and this is what you get. And then you have the masses shunning their own indirect creation, demanding he be sent to jail because of rumors and his physical appearance. Hearing people flame mj really shows me the ignorance and hypocrisy of society.

Aha, blame hollywood and society. All child stars turn out like Jackson, right? Any day now I envision a killing spree by Danny Bonnaduci (spelling?), or maybe that little wimpy kid from Who's The Boss? Those child stars are just nuts. Watch out for Gary Coleman, too, he's a real monstrous by-product of being a child star

Couldn't we argue all child molesters, rapists, murderers, and the like are troubled people? I had no feelings positive or negative about him until rumors of his neverland misdeeds surfaced. When someone behaves in the fashion that Jackson does, I start to think that something's amiss.

If you choose to continue to believe Jackson is innocent, be my guest. I wiped the stars from my eyes after the age of 10 or so.

Having said my piece, I will now embark on a lifelong quest of atonement for my part in creating Michael Jackson...