Media Shy to Report Virtual Collapse of Jackson Case

The case against Michael Jackson has suffered likely terminal blow after the boy at the center of the case descredited himself on the witness stand over the last few days. But admitting that would mean less public interest in the case; less viewers and readers of media coverage of the case; and thus less profit for the major media.

Welcome to profitable reporting. Hey, money matters more than ethics!

There was no avoiding the necessity to report the damaging admission by the boy that he told a school principal no abuse had taken place. But the impact of his testimony had much deeper implications -that's a nettle only AFP's reporter Patrick Moser has fully grasped:

A relentless onslaught by Michael Jackson's defence team has left the prosecution struggling to restore the credibility of its child molestation case.

Over the past few days, lead attorney Thomas Mesereau tore to shreds not only the testimony of the accuser but also the claims made his mother, brother and sister. The hard-hitting defence lawyer dropped a bombshell in the courtroom when he got the teenager to admit telling his school administrator in 2003 that Jackson had never molested him.

Further damaging the prosecution's case, the boy's sister and brother acknowledged they had lied under oath in their testimony. And the defence team is likely looking forward to cross-examining the boy's mother. Jackson's lawyers have described her as a financial predator who coached her children for their court appearances.[source]

Now, here comes the clincher:

Legal experts said the accuser's often combative attitude likely did little to endear him to the 12 jurors, and his contradictory statements, mumbled answers and failure to recall key events to the prosecutors.

"Everything he did hurt his credibility," said legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The best they could do is get him off the stand, get law enforcement officers in and cut their losses," said Cohen. [source]

Another AFP report elaborates:

The former cancer patient admitted he got in trouble with just about every teacher at school, and was often disciplined.

But he could not explain why he once claimed Jackson had told him that if men did not masturbate they might rape women, a statement he had also attributed to his grandmother.

He also was at a loss to explain why he and his family had never called for help at a time when they claimed they were being held prisoners at Neverland but were able to go out shopping, and why they came back on two occasions after leaving the ranch. [source]

Among those media covering the case, at least ABC News did report another damaging development:

During cross-examination by Jackson defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., the young accuser, a cancer survivor, denied ever speaking directly to Jay Leno but said he once placed a call to the comedian from a hospital and left a message on an answering machine.

But... Leno.. tells investigators the boy's mother put him on the phone to speak to him. Leno said the conversation made him suspicious. "It all sounded very rehearsed to me," Leno says.

"Awhile back the mother called," Leno says in the transcript. " 'Oh, my son, he's 12 years old. Oh, he loves you.' Leno says: "I don't know why a 12-year-old boy would be infatuated with a 55-year-old guy who does political jokes and things. But essentially, [they were] sort of looking for money." [source]

The prosecution still has some tactics in reserve, say reports, but this type of case resovles pivotally on the credibility of the accuser before jurors.

Those in the courtroom who witnessed that testimony observed that it "dealt a crushing blow" to the case, as APF's Patrick Moser reported in words likely well chosen. Case closed?