"They want the taxpayers of this county to establish liability for them," Mesereau said. "For this to happen, you have to label him a convict. You have to label him a sex offender. You have to label him everything he is not."
Jackson was an easy mark, Mesereau said. "He has a reputation or being a very childlike person. Very naive, a musical genius, a person who attracted millions of dollars before he knew what it meant." Jackson is, Mesereau said, a celebrity "with a history of being taken advantage of," a man "whose generosity knows no bounds. He took them into Neverland and he took care of them."
"Does he [Jackson] look like the kind of person who is even capable of masterminding this kind of criminal conspiracy?" Mesereau asked. "It's absurd."
"Remember their basic claim is that he is akin to a monster. That he would take a cancer patient and see him as a target. ... Does what you've seen in this trial reflect that? Is it even possible? It's not."
"If you do not believe [the family] beyond a reasonable doubt, Mr. Jackson must be acquitted. That's the law," Mesereau said.
"If you have the slightest suspicion, Mr. Jackson must go home, he must go free."
"Ladies and gentlemen, it only takes one lie under oath to throw this case out of court," Mesereau said to the jurors. "You can't count all the lies under oath by [the Arvisos]. How many does it take to let you know this case is a fraud?"
"What they are trying to do to Michael Jackson is so horrible, so brutal, so potentially devastating to him that we have a very high standard," Mesereau said. "You must under this legal system throw this case where it belongs, out the door."
"This has been a nightmare for Mr. Jackson," the attorney concluded.
The jury will begin deliberations today.
Article comments
1 - Lightning
Thanks for covering this Eric. BlogCritics has become one of my major new sources...
2 - Eric Berlin
I agree -- I get my MJ news exclusively at BC.
3 - Eric Olsen
thanks to your both! I've had some gaps but I don't think I've missed too much that was important.
It's been very strange with no direct broadcast coverage, back to the days of being dependent upon the printed word
4 - Mickey
Hey Eric ,
Great job as usual. So what do you think the jury is gonna decide ?
I think MJ is mentally unfit and should be sent to rehab facility asap. Prison is for criminals. MJ is just a loony.
5 - Eric Olsen
thanks Mickey, and your view may be the closest to the truth. Unfortunately, MJ didn't plead insanity so it's all or nothing.
I think he will not be found guilty of the conspiracy or kidnapping charges. I think it's very possible he will be found guilty of some kind of alcohol to minors charge, which could just be a misdemeanor, and my guess is 50/50 on the molestation.
But of course I really have no idea!
6 - Eric Berlin
I'd pay bank to see a reality show featuring OJ, MJ, M Stewart, and Gary Coleman. They're living in a house, no TV, no phone...
And that's when things start to get real.
(I never pretended to be normal, did I?)
7 - Kim-Mar
Hello,
I don't know what the outcome of MJ's trial is going to be but, I certainly hope and pray that the jury's eyes and ears were open to the fullest extent. If they were, MJ will be acquitted. If these people appear to be lying about one thing, as far as I'm concerned, they're lying about everything. MJ has a brazarre life style but, it does NOT include giving minors liquor, holding families hostage and/or child molestation. This entire case is about money and revenge. No one should be allowed to get away with what this family and Tom Sneddon are trying to do to MJ for the sake of money, revenge, or any other cause. These people have admitted lying in other situations referencing "money" so why are they so believable now? I believe that if everyone prays for MJ to be acquitted it will come to pass. God is not sleep and he will hear our prayers.
No innocent person should suffer the lost of his freedom or anything else and I truly believe that MJ is innocent.
Thanks
Kim-Mar
8 - Nancy
MJ needs a good, quiet asylum & a really, really good shrink, and the Arvisos - especially Mom - need a penitentiary and a guard w/a stun gun. And the rest of us need to get a life.
9 - Nicky
Wheyyyyyy
Michael Jackson is INNOCENT!!
I knew it :D No way could he harm a child! Nope! Wheyyyy Cant wait for his come back!!