Full Answer
Overview
Trial
The trial began on February 28, 2005 in the courthouse of Santa Maria, Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara County Judge Rodney Melville presided over the trial. Melville, who had a contentious relationship with the news media, banned cameras from the courtroom and put a gag order on both sides. He delayed the three-day jury selection process for a week while Jackson was hospitalized, re…
Background
In 1993, the American pop singer Michael Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler. The abuse allegedly took place at Jackson's Neverland Ranch home in Santa Barbara, California. In January 1994, Jackson settled the lawsuit made against him for $23 million, with $5 million going to the family's lawyers. The settlement was not an admission of guilt; Ja…
Investigation and arrest
From February 14 to February 27, 2003, a few weeks after the broadcast of the documentary, the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services conducted a preliminary investigation of Jackson and Gavin. In a confidential report based on interviews with the Arvizos, which leaked to the media, child welfare officials stated that they believed that accusations of illicit conduct we…
Verdict
The jury deliberated for about 32 hours over seven days. On the initial vote, nine jurors voted to acquit Jackson, while three voted guilty. On June 13, 2005, they returned a verdict of not guilty on all charges. Jurors found the prosecution's case weak and the timeline of accusations problematic because they had claimed the molestation occurred after the broadcast of the documentary, when the world's attention was on Jackson and Gavin. One juror believed the mot…
Media coverage
The trial attracted international media attention, and several commentators described it as a media circus. When news of the raid on Jackson's home broke, many channels switched to 24-hour rolling coverage; CBS, NBC, ABC and VH1 produced television specials. The media covered Jackson's health, dress and behavior, such as when he hopped on top of a car and waved to fans. The net…
Aftermath
Following the trial, Mesereau said Jackson would no longer allow people to enter in his room and would no longer "easily allow people to enter his life", as he had become a target for "people who want to extract money or build careers". Jackson moved to the Persian Gulf island country of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. According to Jackson's brother Jermaine, unbeknownst to Jackson, the family had intended to send him to Bahrain had he been convicted. Jackson then li…
Bibliography
• Newberg, Debra. "Reflections and Corrections on Michael Jackson – America in the Mirror", 2010. 9780615320793, published by Newberg and Personal Promotions
Overview
In 1993, Evan Chandler, a dentist and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, accused the American singer Michael Jackson of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son, Jordan Chandler. Jackson had befriended Jordan after renting a vehicle from Jordan's stepfather. Though Evan Chandler initially encouraged the friendship, he later confronted his ex-wife, who had custody of Jordan, with suspicions that the relationship was inappropriate.
Aftermath
A week after the settlement in January 1994, L.A. District Attorney Garcetti announced that he supported amending a law that prohibited sexual assault victims from being compelled to testify in criminal proceedings. The amendment, introduced into the state assembly in February, would have immediately allowed Garcetti to compel Jordan Chandler's testimony.
On February 15, 1994, PBS Frontline aired the documentary Tabloid Truth: The Michael Jackson …
Background
According to Consequence of Sound, in 1993, the American pop star Michael Jackson was the most popular musician in the world. That February, Jackson's car broke down and was towed to a local garage, Rent-A-Wreck. Rent-A-Wreck owner David Schwartz called his wife, June Chandler-Schwartz, to meet Jackson. She brought her son from a previous marriage, Jordan Chandler. Jor…
Allegations
On July 8, 1993, Schwartz phoned Evan to discuss Jordan’s relationship with Jackson. Unbeknownst to Evan, Schwartz recorded the phone call. Chandler was hostile about Jackson, describing him as "evil". He said he had hired "the nastiest son of a bitch he could find", the lawyer Barry Rothman, to humiliate Jackson, and said:
Once I make that phone call, this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty…
Investigation
On August 18, 1993, the Los Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson. June Chandler initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son; however, her position wavered a few days later. On August 21, a search warrant was issued, allowing police to search Neverland Ranch. Police questioned 30 children who …
Jackson's health
Jackson took painkillers for his scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to deal with the stress of the allegations. Within a few months of the allegations becoming news, he had lost approximately 10 pounds and stopped eating. According to Jackson, he had a tendency to stop eating when "really upset or hurt" and his friend Elizabeth Taylor had to make him eat: "She took the spoon and would put it into m…
Jackson's response
On December 22, 1993, Jackson responded to the accusations for the first time via satellite from Neverland Ranch. He denied all the allegations and stated his intent to prove his innocence. He accused the media of manipulating the allegations to "reach their own conclusions", and described the "dehumanizing" police search as "the most humiliating ordeal of my life". On January 5, 1994, a few weeks before the settlement, Jackson gave a five-minute speech at the 26th NAA…
Media reaction
Most of the information available on the allegations was released (officially or unofficially) by the prosecution and unchallenged by Jackson. He was largely portrayed as guilty by the media, which used sensational headlines implying guilt when the content itself did not support the headline. Stories were purchased of his alleged criminal activity, police investigation material was leaked, and unflattering photographs of Jackson were printed.
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