Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

All right. His fifteen minutes are up. Will Michael Jackson please leave the stage?

I’m glad the trial is finally over; and, while my opinion probably won’t sit well with the majority, I believed he would be vindicated all along. It isn’t because he is a paragon of virtue. And it isn’t because the prosecution seemed witless and the accusers had tarnished backgrounds themselves. Rather it was that if O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake can get off in California, then why wouldn’t Jackson?

Granted, he’s eccentric. Granted, the charges were lascivious. But also, it wasn’t about murder. So if the only person convicted of murdering a spouse is Scott Peterson, who was a nobody prior to his trial, then it’s logical to assume that Jackson would walk.

Earl exclaimed, “He should have been tried here in southwestern Michigan,” implying that Jackson would not have been so lucky. That may be. At the same time, we are a country where trial by jury means trial by twelve of one’s fellow citizens, all of whom went through a thorough questioning to be on the jury in the first place. In Jackson’s case, his fellow citizens were Californians and not Michiganders. So whether we like the verdict or not, it is this trial by peers that sets our country apart. Even if you don’t agree with the verdict, you must accept the concept.

At the same time, Michael can go home now and the rest of us can get on with our summer activities.