Not guilty

A not guilty verdict in a criminal trail means the state was unable to convince even one juror (out of 12) of guilt. If they can convince just one they get a hung jury, not a not guilty verdict, and they get another shot at trying to get a conviction.

So, it's understandable that not guilty verdicts are rare.

Paterico's Pontification seems to miss the point by a wide margin when they comment on Micheal Jackson:

report on this bit of cloying hyperbole from the mouth of LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger, who, while discussing plans for Michael Jackson’s pending memorial, addressed reporters at the Staples Center on Friday: “On behalf of the Chief of Police William Bratton, and the entire Los Angeles Police Department, I would like to express my sincere and deep condolences for the Jackson family for the loss of such a great man.” (Audio clip available at the link.)

Leonard goes on to point out that Paysinger’s characterization of Jackson “may not be shared by the LAPD detectives who were assigned to the Sexually Exploited Child Unit in the 1990s, when they built a multi-victim felony child rape case against Jackson, only to be thwarted by Jackson’s checkbook

Oh, come on.

The state and county also had a pretty big checkbook, plus had the power to cajole and intimidate witnessses but they couldn't convince even one juror of the truth of even one of those felony accusations.

It could be that they just went after an innocent guy for the crime of being weird.