Michael Jackson Dies at 50

[Jobydrone]

Well it is officially known that after the initial charges Michael Jackson paid the child and his family twenty two million dollars in order to avoid criminal prosecution.  And ten years later more accusations emerged, and although the man was acquitted, evidence was produced at the trial that clearly indicated abusive behavior.  There's no reason to go into the sick details of what those behaviors were, but it is enough to say that activities were described that no innocent child would have any business knowing, talking or thinking about.  If that verdict proves anything, it's that if you have enough money you can get away with anything in this country. 

[Rico]

Evidence is one thing, 100% proof is another.  I'm not going to get into a debate and again I'm not defending anything or anyone.  I knew this would come up and I just choose to only say things that I know for certain.  Especially about someone who has just died.

[Geekyfanboy]

He was acquitted on all charges and like Rico said, we don't know what the real story is and never will. Of course you can have your opinions, we are all allowed those. For me I loved the man, I grew up on his music. Michael Jackson broke down the racial barriers, generational barriers, and cultural barriers. He touched the lives of so many people. I was watching the news last night and there were white, black, Asian, Indian, Mexican, old, young, female and male people crying at the lose of King of Pop. He was loved by the world. I won't deny that he did some bizarre things that were unexplainable, but who are we to judge. I'll always remember the man that brought so much joy to my life for my 38 + years on this Earth. Thanks Michael for touching my soul.

[billybob476]

If you are accused of something and acquitted, you are not guilty of that charge. What's the point of this process if you are suspect for the rest of your life. Maybe the legal system is broken but if that's the case just throw everyone accused of a crime in jail without trial because it's a waste of everyone's time and money.

I agree. It's easy to remember the bad and forget the good. The man is the King of Pop for a reason. I've always been a casual MJ fan but there's no denying his music is iconic and made a huge impact on the entire world.

Whatever he did or didn't do in his personal life won't change that fact.

[Jobydrone]

How do you provide 100% proof of something after the fact in any other way but with evidence?  Look I'm not trying to troll or cause controversy.  It's just that all the starry eyed eulogizing going on right now (not here on this site or thread, just in general) is really burning me up considering the history this man has.  

[billybob476]

I'm not arguing. All I'm saying is that in my mind, if he was acquitted, he didn't do it. It's easy to rip people down for their controversies. In death I like to remember the good things.

[MSUFan]

A civil suit and a criminal case are two totally separate cases. In a criminal case, you must believe "BEYOND RESONABLE DOUBT" that the person has committed the crime and is guilty of the alleged crime. In a civil suit, you only need to have "STANDARD of PROOF" which is far easier to become satisfied. This is why in most cases you can see some acquitted on criminal counts, but still pay in a civil court system. All the evidence is the same, but because you need two different standards of evidence your argument is completely invalid.

"Beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard of proof required in most criminal cases within an adversarial system. Generally the prosecution bears the burden of proof and is required to prove their version of events to this standard. This means that the proposition being presented by the prosecution must be proven to the extent that there is no "reasonable doubt" in the mind of a reasonable person that the defendant is guilty. There can still be a doubt, but only to the extent that it would not affect a "reasonable person's" belief regarding whether or not the defendant is guilty. "The shadow of a doubt" is sometimes used interchangeably with reasonable doubt, but this extends beyond the latter, to the extent many believe it an impossible standard[citation needed]. Reasonable doubt is therefore used."

"This standard of proof in a civil lawsuit is significantly easier to satisfy than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard of a criminal case. In a civil lawsuit, the case must be proved by a "preponderance of the evidence," that is, by enough evidence to conclude that it is more likely than not that the victim's claims are true. A victim can still pursue a civil lawsuit, even if the criminal prosecution resulted in a "not guilty" verdict. Criminal prosecutions require a unanimous decision by all twelve jurors, which can be difficult to achieve. Civil lawsuits require agreement by only ten of twelve jurors for a decision. These significant differences between civil and criminal cases were underscored in the highly publicized O.J. Simpson case. The families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were able to obtain a $33.5 million dollar settlement against O.J. Simpson in civil court even though he had been acquitted of the murders in the criminal prosecution."

Copy and pasted from two websites.

[Jobydrone]

there's no denying his music is iconic and made a huge impact on the entire world.

Whatever he did or didn't do in his personal life won't change that fact.

This is the exact sentiment that sickens me about the whole situation.  If he didn't have multi millions to spend on legal defenses and was actually convicted of his crimes would you make the same statement?  How entertaining does a person have to be in order to get a "get out of jail free" card in our society?  How depraved of a crime do you have to commit in order to incur the wrath of public opinion in the USA?  As much as I loved Michael Jackson's music when I was a kid too (I had the "Making of: Thriller" on laser disc and probably watched it 100 times growing up) I can't listen to that stuff anymore or think about Michael Jackson without feeling sad for the victims of his actions.

[Rico]

I'm going to bow out of this one now.  I have said what I wanted to say.

[Geekyfanboy]

there's no denying his music is iconic and made a huge impact on the entire world.

Whatever he did or didn't do in his personal life won't change that fact.

This is the exact sentiment that sickens me about the whole situation.  If he didn't have multi millions to spend on legal defenses and was actually convicted of his crimes would you make the same statement?  How entertaining does a person have to be in order to get a "get out of jail free" card in our society?  How depraved of a crime do you have to commit in order to incur the wrath of public opinion in the USA?  As much as I loved Michael Jackson's music when I was a kid too (I had the "Making of: Thriller" on laser disc and probably watched it 100 times growing up) I can't listen to that stuff anymore or think about Michael Jackson without feeling sad for the victims of his actions.

Were you on the juror on the Michael Jackson cases?? Did you hear all the evidence and see all the evidence? Or are you going by what the media has released? Again like I have said you can have your opinions just as I can have mine and if those "sicken" you then so be it.

[Jobydrone]

Were you on the juror on the Michael Jackson cases?? Did you hear all the evidence and see all the evidence? Or are you going by what the media has released? Again like I have said you can have your opinions just as I can have mine and if those "sicken" you then so be it.

Are these serious questions you expect me to answer?  Of course I wasn't a juror.  Of course I have based my opinions on the evidence that we have been presented by the various forms of media available to us.  I guess your point is that I am somehow ill informed and therefore my opinion is suspect or worth less because of that?  It boils down to the fact that in my mind, there could have been no evidence presented at all (but there was) and the simple fact that paying 22 million dollars to make the accusation of child molestation go away indicates guilt on some level.  That is not the action of an innocent man.  At that point I can no longer in good conscience enjoy myself being entertained by an individual when I know that they are so sick and perverted that they could abuse a child.  If that angers you Kenny, then so be it.

[billybob476]

I don't have much else to say either. Everyone will believe what they will and a post on a forum won't change that.

[Geekyfanboy]

Loved going to see this at Disneyland.. was upset when they removed it.

Michael Jackson - Captain Eo part 1 of 2 ( FULL VERSION )

Michael Jackson - Captain Eo part 2 of 2 ( FULL VERSION )

[moyer777]

Nathan and I just watched it.  I hadn't seen that before.  Was it a 3-D movie Kenny?

[PepperDude]

Well I found out last night at 12:30 AM local time over our portable radios. Our staff sergeant said "Michael Jackson is dead." Some of us didn't believe him but somehow I knew staff sergeant wouldn't say something insipid over the radio. And sure enough we confirmed it when we checked it out on the Internet. So some of us started playing some of Micheal Jackson's songs until we went to sleep. It was a sad night for a lot of us. Jackson was truly a great artist and performer.