Now that much of the initial furor over the verdict in the Michael Jackson trial is over, I offer my opinion in the matter:

One of the jurors (I believe it was Juror Number 1) explained it correctly. The question in the trial was not, Is Michael Jackson guilty of child molesting? but, Is Michael Jackson guilty of molesting this particular child?

Many of those who are angry about the Jackson verdict, seem to be convinced that the evidence that Jackson is a child molester is incontrovertible. I tend to agree: I doubt that Michael Jackson is not a child molester. But that wasn't the question. The State had to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jackson molested this child, not that he molested children. Jackson, on the other hand, had no burden to prove anything.

Many people--too many, I think--seem to believe that our system is designed to do two things: (1) make sure that the guilty are punished; and (2) make sure that the innocent go free. It isn't. It's designed to ensure that the innocent go free. If you accept, as I do, that our nation's laws are based on the Judeo-Christian system (and, more specifically, Calvinism), then it stands to reason that many of our laws are based on that system. Our rule--"Innocent until proven guilty"--is, despite what secular humanists would have us believe, quite biblical. When a person stands accused of a crime, the biblical law does not require that the accused demonstrate his innocence; it requires that those making the accusation prove it. And if you think about it, the standard of proof is really quite high: the facts against the accused must be attested by two or three witnesses examined separately. If you think about that, reflection should make it obvious that protection of the innocent, and not getting the guilty, is the purpose of this standard of proof. Two or three witnesses--it is not very easy to get two or three people to agree on a lot. And this assumes unanimity on what "agreement" is in the first place.

Are you a Christian? If so, then surely you believe that the gospels are true, that their testimony agrees together. But how many angels were in the tomb when Mary looked in? One or three? Look at the variety in the accounts. Is this the sort of agreement we are talking about? If so then maybe it is not all that difficult to get witness agreement. But on the other hand, maybe the precise question the witnesses are called to answer is more relevant. So, although there does seem to be some variety concerning the number of angels at the tomb on resurrection morning, the gospel witnesses are unanimous on the question: Whoever was in the tomb that morning, Jesus was not among them.

So, getting back to my topic, the witnesses are very important--especially their reliability, which certainly is a function of their integrity. This jury simply did not trust one or more of the witnesses against Michael Jackson. And, while they are fairly certain that Jackson is a child molester (which is to say that the evidence against him leads one to believe that he probably has molested at least one child), they were not convinced that much of this same evidence demonstrated that he molested this child. And that was the question.

Let's think for a moment about something I just said: the evidence against him leads one to believe that he probably has molested at least one child. While it is true that his molesting a single child is enough to characterize him as a child molester, it is not true that it's not being possible that he is not a child molester is the same as its being true that he molested this child.

So when someone like Micheal Gallagher is angry because this jury let a child molester go free, I just don't think he gets it quite right. Yes, a child molester did go free. But his being a child molester is not the same as his being the molester of this child; and that was the question. I'm sorry Micheal, but "not possibly innocent of wrong-doing" is not the same as "guilty." Nor has there been a travesty of justice. In our country--at least for now--justice can only protect the innocent; justice cannot guarantee that the guilty never go free. There is only one way to do that: As we used to say when I was in the Army, "Kill them all. Let God sort them out." That's the only way to make sure that the gulty always pay. Of course, it doesn't do much for the innocent and wrongly-accused, I'm afraid.