Michael Jackson fans throughout the world are celebrating today after the superstar was acquitted of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland ranch.
The jury's decision vindicated the pop star who insisted he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta.
Jurors also acquitted Jackson of
getting the boy drunk and of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at Neverland - a total legal victory but one that may do little to improve his bizarre image.
Jackson looked straight ahead as the verdicts were read soon after 9.15 this morning.
He showed no visible reaction as he was repeatedly cleared of each of the 10 counts.
The verdict - reached after about 30 hours of deliberations over seven days - ended a star-studded, four-month trial that offered a global audience a lurid look into the weird world of Michael Jackson and presented jurors with vastly different portraits of him: As a creepy pervert who preyed on little boys, or the victim of a frame-up by mother-and-son shakedown artists.
Screams of joy rang out among a throng of fans outside the courthouse.
Hundreds of fans erupted into ecstatic screams of joy, jumped up and down, hugged each other and threw confetti in celebration of the news.
A woman in the throng released one white dove each time an acquittal was read.
Fans, some waving banners, flags and placards, immediately began yelling and cheering as each ``not guilty'' verdict was returned against the 46-year-old ``King of Pop''.
One of Jackson's lawyers, Susan Yu, burst into tears as the superstar was cleared on charges that could have seen him jailed for more than 18 years.
Outside, fans danced and screamed in the sun, chanting ``Michael, Michael'', while weeping and embracing each other in an electric and emotional celebration.
IN TOMORROW'S ADVOCATE: Reaction from a former Jackson tour manager who now lives in Northland and our readers give their own verdict.
