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Verdict silences cry of victims
By Alethea Guthrie
Although retired Superior Court Judge Burton S. Katz certainly has more experience in the courtroom than me, I must respectfully disagree with his commentary on the Michael Jackson verdict. As a survivor of child sexual abuse, I think that I can speak for the majority of all who have been a victim of this heinous crime. We become experts in dealing with the human denial system.
Judge Katz wants to know “who in their right mind” would sexually molest a child after being criticized so strongly for his behavior with the child. Pedophiles are not in their right mind. They are warped individuals. The accuser had already denied any abuse (common behavior for victims of abuse). Jackson may have felt he had the green light after that.
Many seasoned attorneys that sat in on the entire trial felt that the accuser was very credible. I feel that denial permeated that jury deliberation room. These people convinced themselves that this boy had lied, in spite of the fact that expert testimony revealed that adolescent boys rarely lie about sexual molestation, especially by a male perpetrator.
This jury completely overlooked other key pieces of evidence. One juror stated that they did not even really look at the picture books of naked boys that were found at Neverland. I believe that his jury did not look out of self-comfort, and because they did not want to believe that a famous pop star that has outwardly done nice things for children could possibly have such material in his possession.
One juror even said that he believed the boy was probably being truthful but that there was no other evidence. Yet, jury instructions specifically stated that in order to prove the charge of molestation, the child’s testimony did not have to be corroborated by any other evidence. Another juror admitted that there was a “closet full of evidence” yet, it still was not enough. Scott Peterson was convicted on far less evidence.
When a reporter specifically asked the jury foreman about Mr. Jackson’s habit of sleeping with little boys, he said that he didn’t want to “get into that.” That is unfortunate considering the fact that the jury instructions also stated that the defendant would be guilty of the crime of molestation, if the defendant merely touched any part of the child’s body, fully clothed or not, in order for sexual gratification. I find it incredible that the jury foreman would not address why this defendant was sleeping in bed with boys every night, if not for some kind of sexual gratification. The law does not even require the child or adult be sexually gratified; only the intent was needed to convict. Nor did it matter if the child consented to sleeping in the bed.
Anyone with two degrees of intelligence knows that if a man feels robbed of his childhood, and therefore likes to hang around kids (by the way, that’s something that most preferential pedophiles do) then he might go to movies and play sports with the boys. He would not weep and plead to sleep in the same bed with them.
This jury conveniently forgot about the fact that the boy told police in his taped interview not to tell his mother. These are hardly the words of a child who is being coached what to say by that very same mother. Jurors, who had originally wanted to vote for guilt, changed their mind because they ultimately blamed the mother, saying that she should not have allowed her child to sleep with Michael at Neverland. So if nothing happened then why are they angry with the mother for allowing him in there? This jury put the mother on trial instead of Michael Jackson. It was easier for them to condemn a woman that they did not like and even held resentment for, than to convict the famous pop star.
Preferential pedophiles go after children who won’t be believed or who have family like this boy’s mother. The mother may have many problems, but it does not mean that the child was not abused. The jury heard the fact that Mr. Jackson has paid other accusers a collective $20 million to $30 million dollars, yet they overlooked the jury instructions which advised that this means he had a strong propensity to have committed this crime as well. One of those accusers gave reportedly very believable testimony. During a brief interruption in his account of the alleged abuse, many of the jurors joked and behaved as if the man on the stand did not even exist. At least three out of six jurors said that they did not even believe Michael Jackson has ever molested any child, ever.
I feel that the jurors in this case convinced themselves that everyone was lying except Mr. Jackson, who spoke only in his own defense through a taped video of himself with complimentary lighting, mood music, and the freedom to tell the world that he “loves” children-all without being cross-examined about this special kind of “love.”
One juror called Michael Jackson a “normal” person, and stated that the trial “made him real” in her eyes. I don’t think many people know very many men who have pictures of naked boys, who sleep in bed with only little boys every night for a year, and who make multi-million dollar checks out to the families of some of these little boys. This does not sound like a woman who made a decision based on the law or the evidence. She sounds like a star-struck American. Another juror even attended the victory party that was thrown for Michael Jackson’s fans and supporters after the verdict. This is an outrage.
Although one member of the jury did have the courage to say that he feels Michael Jackson has probably molested a child, this jury still threw their collective common sense out that deliberation room window, and they have a serious lack of awareness of the consequences of their verdict of not guilty. These 12 people do not realize the precedent they have now set for child molesters. This verdict gives perpetrators the go-ahead and it will silence the cries of many victims. They did not even give Mr. Jackson an admonition; they instead found him innocent of all debauchery. I weep for the children of this country and for our jury system.