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Prosecution Rebuts Jackson Defense
Thursday, May 26, 2005
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,157745,00.html booya!!
After the defense rested Wednesday, prosecutors immediately began their rebuttal. Among the witnesses called was Neverland manager Jesus Salas (search), who was asked if allegations against the accuser and his brother by defense witnesses were reported to him.
The claims included the boys being involved in stealing money from a kitchen and the brother holding a knife to the throat of an assistant chef. Salas said those were not reported.
The accuser could find himself being questioned by the defense again if the judge agrees to a prosecution request to play a videotape of the boy's first interview with police in July 2003.
Prosecutors, who have tried to show Jackson as a pedophile with a history of fondling boys, say the tape would show that the accuser's story has been consistent. If the tape is shown, defense attorneys say they should have the right to question the boy about the tape.
On Wednesday, defense attorney Robert Sanger argued prosecutors should have shown the tape when they were presenting their case. They only want to show it now, he said, to try to end the trial with a dramatic flourish.
"It's a way to have (the boy) come back and testify without cross-examination in front of the jury," Sanger said.
Hollywood celebrities led a parade of witnesses who testified in Michael Jackson's defense, but the real star of the trial – the singer himself – never took the stand.
Jackson's lawyers called witnesses including Jay Leno (search), Macaulay Culkin (search) and Chris Tucker (search) as the defense sought to portray the young accuser and his mother as gold-digging schemers who made up allegations that the singer molested the boy.
On Wednesday, Tucker recalled how he once warned Jackson to be wary of the accuser and his family.
"I said, 'Michael, something ain't right,'" the comedian and star of the "Rush Hour" movies said. "Watch out."
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient at his Neverland ranch in 2003. He is also charged with giving the boy alcohol and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary that recounted Jackson's penchant for letting children sleep in his bed.
The defense called 50 witnesses over three weeks, including Culkin and two other young men who disputed earlier prosecution testimony by insisting that Jackson never behaved inappropriately when as boys they stayed at Neverland.
Tucker was the final defense witness Wednesday. He said he found the accuser to be unusually cunning for a 12-year-old after meeting the boy at a benefit while the child was battling cancer in 2001.
Tucker said his suspicions about the family set in when they came to the set of a movie he was filming in Las Vegas and refused to leave. He said he paid for their hotel and expenses, but after several weeks they were still there.
On cross-examination, District Attorney Tom Sneddon (search) implied that Tucker encouraged the family by asking them to come to his brother's wedding, but Tucker said they invited themselves.
On Tuesday, "Tonight Show" host Leno testified that he told a friend the boy's calls to him sounded "scripted."
Without ever taking the stand, Jackson spoke to jurors through a nearly three-hour videotape that included scenes left out of the documentary "Living With Michael Jackson." In the video, Jackson said his feelings for children were innocent and loving.
"I haven't been betrayed or deceived by children," he said. "Adults have let me down."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,157745,00.html booya!!
After the defense rested Wednesday, prosecutors immediately began their rebuttal. Among the witnesses called was Neverland manager Jesus Salas (search), who was asked if allegations against the accuser and his brother by defense witnesses were reported to him.
The claims included the boys being involved in stealing money from a kitchen and the brother holding a knife to the throat of an assistant chef. Salas said those were not reported.
The accuser could find himself being questioned by the defense again if the judge agrees to a prosecution request to play a videotape of the boy's first interview with police in July 2003.
Prosecutors, who have tried to show Jackson as a pedophile with a history of fondling boys, say the tape would show that the accuser's story has been consistent. If the tape is shown, defense attorneys say they should have the right to question the boy about the tape.
On Wednesday, defense attorney Robert Sanger argued prosecutors should have shown the tape when they were presenting their case. They only want to show it now, he said, to try to end the trial with a dramatic flourish.
"It's a way to have (the boy) come back and testify without cross-examination in front of the jury," Sanger said.
Hollywood celebrities led a parade of witnesses who testified in Michael Jackson's defense, but the real star of the trial – the singer himself – never took the stand.
Jackson's lawyers called witnesses including Jay Leno (search), Macaulay Culkin (search) and Chris Tucker (search) as the defense sought to portray the young accuser and his mother as gold-digging schemers who made up allegations that the singer molested the boy.
On Wednesday, Tucker recalled how he once warned Jackson to be wary of the accuser and his family.
"I said, 'Michael, something ain't right,'" the comedian and star of the "Rush Hour" movies said. "Watch out."
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient at his Neverland ranch in 2003. He is also charged with giving the boy alcohol and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary that recounted Jackson's penchant for letting children sleep in his bed.
The defense called 50 witnesses over three weeks, including Culkin and two other young men who disputed earlier prosecution testimony by insisting that Jackson never behaved inappropriately when as boys they stayed at Neverland.
Tucker was the final defense witness Wednesday. He said he found the accuser to be unusually cunning for a 12-year-old after meeting the boy at a benefit while the child was battling cancer in 2001.
Tucker said his suspicions about the family set in when they came to the set of a movie he was filming in Las Vegas and refused to leave. He said he paid for their hotel and expenses, but after several weeks they were still there.
On cross-examination, District Attorney Tom Sneddon (search) implied that Tucker encouraged the family by asking them to come to his brother's wedding, but Tucker said they invited themselves.
On Tuesday, "Tonight Show" host Leno testified that he told a friend the boy's calls to him sounded "scripted."
Without ever taking the stand, Jackson spoke to jurors through a nearly three-hour videotape that included scenes left out of the documentary "Living With Michael Jackson." In the video, Jackson said his feelings for children were innocent and loving.
"I haven't been betrayed or deceived by children," he said. "Adults have let me down."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.