Michael Jackson, Juries, and Race in the U.S.A.

With the recent news that the Michael Jackson jury is now pretty much feeding upon itself, with at least two members writing books and making accusations that they were pressured and intimidated into voting not guilty (see article here: Jackson Jury Gone Wild) and now feeling that they let a pedophile go free, I wanted to take a few minutes and rant and comment a bit about the Jackson case, Juries (and jurisprudence) and race in this country (the U.S. of A.)

I was never fascinated by the Jackson case, though like most current events I tried to follow it and keep up with what was going on. I was well aware of the prior accusations against Jackson, and was aware (thanks to saturation via the news media) of the details of the recent case. Because of that awareness, and a general understanding of the law and the concept of a "reasonable man" and "reasonable doubt", I postulated fairly early on that Jackson would be found not guilty of the bigger charges that were filed against him, but a few of the charges seemed to be clear cut, slam dunk winners for the prosecution. (Especially the charges related to supplying alcohol to a minor).

When the actual verdicts were read, I was shocked to hear that there was not a single guilty charge out of all of the counts he had been charged with. I was left feeling like the jury must have been packed with a bunch of complete morons, and the news article referenced above does nothing to change my mind in that area.

On a bigger front, when the charges were read, I watched -- severely disappointed and disheartened -- while a black female co-worker sat clapping and cheering as each not guilty vote was announced.

It reminded me much of a Dave Chapelle bit I saw in repeats on his Comedy Central show recently where he was being interviewed as a potential juror for various trials. For Robert Blake, Chapelle would have no problem voting guilty and giving him the death penalty, but for O.J. Simpson, R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, and a few other infamous black individuals that were going to trial, Chapelle couldn't be convinced of the possibility that any of those individuals was guilty. It had to be a conspiracy. Digitized evidence. Made up and bogus charges. One of the punch lines of the bit was when the prosecutor asked Chapelle if, given his stance that Jackson wasn't guilty, Chapelle would let his kids sleep with Michael Jackson and at that, Chapelle shockingly hollers back "Hell No!!!" (or something the equivalent thereof) along with a "Do ya think I'm crazy?!?!"

This case, much like the O.J. case before it, and the reaction among the black community (that I could see) tells me yet again that the justice system in this country has a long way to go still. It seems that the black community will never trust the judicial system in this country, and (generalizing here, I know, sorry if I'm painting with too broad a brush, but please feel free to dispute my position) instead are going to continue to be willing to let readily apparent guilty parties (O.J. and Michael Jackson) go free all because of perceived past injustices done in the name of the law against blacks.

This saddens me, because crime does continue to be a problem for all of us, and especially in inner cities areas like Baltimore, D.C., Detroit, and other cities where there continues to be black on black crime, gang crime and other problems that are killing off generations of individuals and leaving classes of individuals behind in our society. These problems make it easy for people with even a hint of bigotry and racism to sneer down at the problems and blame them on race, rather than faulting the individuals who are the culprits. And the problems also make it easy for minorities to claim mistreatment and indifference at the hands of the judicial system, when crimes like those go unsolved, and yet many dollars and attention are poured into finding a run-away bride, or a lost girl who disappeared while taking a spring break in a luxurious area.

I know in the N. Holloway case (lost girl in Aruba), the amount of time and resources spent on trying to find out what happened probably dwarfs the amount of time and money spent on solving several cases in the D.C. area. Because of that, I can't say I blame anyone for feeling that minorities continue to be mistreated by the justice system.

I was but a child during the great civil rights revolution in this country. I was raised by parents that taught me everyone was equal, and yet, as I've been reminded in reading the great Grisham novel: The Last Juror, I've seen plenty of racism in my time on this planet, and I don't just mean Archie Bunker on the T.V.

Little things along the way, and little things that continue to this day. As an example, Churches that continue to be dominated by one race or another, with two very similar churches sitting only yards apart in some cases, one historically black, the other primarily white. What keeps blacks from worshiping with the whites, and vice versa? As another example, historically black colleges and universities. Why do some schools continue to primarily attract one race, while others seem much more diverse.

My children, my wife, and myself had a conversation about race and political correctness with the NCAA decision over the last few weeks, and with a recent vacation through Disney. At least two of the attractions at Disney seemed to have been made somewhat politically correct (at least to me, which may show I'm somewhat sensitive to the topic/issue): the (linked) Hall of Presidents, and (linked) The American Adventure. Both included several words and comments about slavery, and how some "Americans" were denied the same rights as others. The Hall of Presidents seemed more slanted towards addressing the issue, but both seemed to have been clearly aiming to remind all visitors of the civil rights struggles of the past and even of today.

My family talked about the attractions at Disney, about the NCAA and it's recent decision and racism in general. We argued over whether the NCAA even had any business injecting itself into the fight over the use of "Indian" (Native American) imagery and mostly agreed that the decision that was made seemed to have just been one that was made in the name of political correctness, rather than having been made to actually correct a problem.

In anycase, it seems from these fairly current events that we continue to have a long way to go in this country before we can be a color blind society. It may never happen, even though we have come a long, long way in the last (approximately) 40 years. Honestly, I'll belief we're there, or at least much closer, when the reactions to events like the Michael Jackson trial are less one-sided or race centric.

Thanks for reading these comments, and please do feel free to respond with thoughts of your own.

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When the actual verdicts were read, I was shocked to hear that there was not a single guilty charge out of all of the counts he had been charged with. I was left feeling like the jury must have been packed with a bunch of complete morons, and the news article referenced above does nothing to change my mind in that area.

I was not. I dont know if he is guilty or not, but following it? I would have voted to acquit on all counts as well. The DA really blew this, or not. If he is guilty, then the DA blew it, If he is not, then the defense did the right job.

I am still not sure he is guilty and I am not on the jury.

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