The release of six handwritten notes from jurors in the Michael Jackson case show they reached their decision to acquit the pop star after careful consideration of evidence, including a total review of the accuser’s testimony.
A request from the jury foreman to Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville resulted in a court stenographer going to the jury room and reading back the boy’s entire testimony.
The notes, which were disclosed in response to a news media request, also showed jurors were briefly deadlocked on two lesser charges that accused Jackson of furnishing alcohol to a minor. They quickly broke that deadlock and agreed on an acquittal.
“We cannot agree on the lesser counts of seven and eight,” said one note, which was quickly superseded by another saying, “Please disregard our prior request with counts 7 and 8.”
A short time later, jurors unanimously acquitted Jackson of all 10 charges against him as well as the lesser options that were offered to them if they acquitted him of the more serious counts.
The jury notes were sealed by the judge during deliberations. He agreed at a hearing yesterday (June 16) to release virtually all documents he had sealed during the trial.
“I have no intention to keep anything sealed except something that might involve privacy matters of a juror,” Melville said during the hearing that led to release of the documents. The judge also ordered authorities to return the passport Jackson had to surrender when he was arrested. Melville had already ordered that Jackson’s $3 million bail be returned.
Melville delayed the release of many items to give attorneys time to object to unsealing specific documents. He told lawyers to submit any requests to keep matters sealed by June 23.
On Monday, Jackson, 46, was acquitted of all charges alleging he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor in 2003, plied the boy with wine and conspired to hold him and his family captive to get them to make a video rebutting a damaging television documentary.
Jackson has not appeared in public since the verdict, but the Los Angeles Times reported today that the singer’s family was throwing a party for his most loyal fans at the Chumash Casino tomorrow in Santa Ynez.
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