Book Review: Conspiracy

I wanted to share a very interesting and often jaw dropping book that I read recently. I am not aware of how many other people read this book since the subject is highly controversial. The book: Michael Jackson: Conspiracy by Aphrodite Jones can make any close minded individual open their eyes. Now, Michael Jackson does not make this book controversial. What made this book controversial was the fact that a journalist admitted that the media forced people to think Michael Jackson was guilty from the very beginning.
Jones, who was one of many journalists to cover the trial, takes the reader right inside the courtroom during Jackson’s child molestation trial and details testimony of important witnesses. Jones writes about important aspects of the case that the media fails to mention or just plain does not want to report. Why? Because it was too positive towards Jackson. The media had him convicted from the start of the trial. As a matter of fact, Jones admitted she was one of those reporters in the beginning to think Jackson was guilty, but then realized he was the victim, not the criminal.
Jones also gives the reader an insight into Jackson’s demeanor everyday during the trial. According to the book, no matter how much physical pain Jackson was in at times, he always made an effort to smile and wave to his fans outside the courthouse.
Here are just some of the major points in the book that point to Jackson’s innocence:
Ø Jackson’s accuser Gavin (will only use the first name) and his brother Star’s testimony contradicts one another. Star claimed he witnessed Jackson touching his brother inappropriately, but what he allegedly saw was different from what Gavin said happened to him. The boys also presented an attitude on the stand and did not seem to gain sympathy from the jury despite the fact that Gavin was a cancer survivor. Also, according to the book, Gavin was very unemotional when describing what Jackson allegedly did to him. An important thing both boys revealed was that they admitted lying under oath in the JC Penny lawsuit brought by their mother years earlier. A pattern of behavior perhaps?
Ø Both boys and even their older sister claimed that Jackson gave them alcohol on several occasions, but staff at his Neverland Ranch said both boys seemed intoxicated without Jackson even being on the property. Not only that, but according to witnesses, both Gavin and Star were trouble makers and out of control at Jackson’s ranch when he was not around. The trouble they caused included defacing property and Gavin driving a van on the property without anyone’s permission. I was shocked to read (certainly did not hear about it during the trial) that Gavin’s brother put a knife to one of Jackson’s housekeepers. Even on plane rides with Jackson and his staff they were rude by throwing food at people while Jackson’s own young children were well-behaved.
Ø Then there was the pornography issue where the boys said Jackson had showed them adult magazines. Many adult magazines (heterosexual magazines) were found at Jackson’s home, but I thought it actually made him look like a normal man for a change. The main issue was the fingerprints where both Jackson’s and Gavin’s fingerprints were on a magazine. However, the prosecution admitted that fingerprints were not tested until after the grand jury proceedings where Gavin testified at, so it was possible that Gavin touched the magazine during his testimony. Talk about sloppy police work. Besides that, Jackson claimed he caught the boys looking at his magazines, and the boys admitted that they found the magazines while going through his belongings.
Ø The accuser and his family went to lawyer Larry Feldman before they went to the police to report the abuse. This was significant because Feldman was the same lawyer who represented Jackson’s 1993 accuser and was able to get the boy a large sum of money from Jackson. Jackson’s lawyer always insisted that Gavin and his family also wanted a large sum of money. If your child was molested, wouldn’t you go the police first instead of a civil lawyer?
Ø Actor and comedian George Lopez testified at the trial. He met Gavin after the young boy was diagnosed with cancer and he wanted to help him. However, he said on the witness stand that he cut all ties with the family when Gavin’s dad kept getting angry and asking Lopez for money. According to the book, after listening to George Lopez’s testimony, Jackson seemed to be thinking about why no one warned him about this family.
Ø Probably the most damaging witness to the prosecution’s case was the accuser’s own mother, Janet. She was the most inappropriate witness on the stand who rudely pointed fingers at the jury and asked them not to judge her. One of the charges against Jackson was conspiracy. The accuser’s family claimed Jackson and his associates held them hostage at Neverland, which seemed so laughable. Why? Well why Miss Janet was being held “captive” she was buying beauty products and getting full body waxes paid for by Jackson. However, she managed to “escape” Neverland 3 times, but kept going back. Oh how tough it is to be a hostage at Neverland ranch! According to this book, the conspiracy charge made prosecutor Tom Sneddon seem desperate to nail Jackson on something. Of all their witnesses, the prosecution could not connect Jackson to the conspiracy charge.
Ø This family seemed to have a pattern of making abuse allegations. Besides the JC Penney case where Gavin’s mother cried abuse against the security guards at the store and got her children to lie under oath for her, I was shocked to learn by reading this book that Gavin made abuse claims towards his own mother in the 1990’s. Plus, Gavin’s sister accused her father of sexual abuse.
Ø Chris Tucker was another famous actor who testified in the trial. He met Jackson through Gavin since they were both helping the young cancer victim. Tucker told the jury that Gavin would ask him for money and ask him to do a lot of things for him because he was not feeling well. He said Gavin would always have a sad look on his face when asking for favors. Tucker said he warned Jackson about the family and told him to be careful.
Ø In my opinion, the biggest aspect that made this case look very weak was the timeline of the alleged molestation. The prosecution tried to make the jury believe that Gavin was molested by Jackson right after the Martin Bashir documentary aired. It’s the same documentary that purposely put Jackson in a negative light, and it featured Gavin and Jackson holding hands while being interviewed. Following the airing of the documentary and the negative reaction it received, especially the part where they were holding hands and talking about sharing a bed with each other, Jackson was once again in the center of controversary. So, then he decided to molest the boy??? This makes no sense at all. The whole world was already talking about Jackson and the boy seen in the documentary and people wanted him investigated for child abuse, so this really does not seem logical to me. Any genius could figure out that this timeline made zero sense.

So, there are just some of the major points of Aphrodite Jones’ book. Everyone knows how the trial ended. I admit I had doubts about Jackson’s innocence during the trial. Here is a man who surrounds himself with children and says during interviews that he does not see a problem with a grown man sharing a bed with a child. I am not saying that is right. However, this book really opened my eyes on how the accuser’s family were gold diggers and took advantage of Jackson’s celebrity. Jones even points out that Jackson may be in fact too nice when it comes to helping others. People just end up taking advantage of his generosity. Plus, it is sickening to think that this family used their son’s illness to meet celebrities and eventually get their money.

I know that the majority of Americans think Jackson is guilty and got away with a crime not once, but twice. However, they are just being close minded without even knowing all the evidence that was presented in the case. After reading Jones’ book, I would agree that the jury was not star struck. They actually made the right decision. The accuser’s family gave the jury no reason to believe their story, and to send a man to prison for 20 years with so many holes in the case would have been wrong.
Here is a link to Aphrodite Jones’ very informative blog: http://michaeljacksonconspiracy.blogspot.com/