I lived in Santa Ynez (down the road from Neverland Ranch) when Michael Jackson was on trial for sexual abuse. It was obvious that he was being persecuted, not prosecuted. I was so glad when the trial was over. Although I thought the evidence showed him to be guilty, the trial itself was a travesty of justice and the charges were rightly dropped.
Jackson was not only a victim of a wrong-headed trial, but also suffered greatly from his emotional and physical abuse as a child. Actually, he was never really allowed to be a child, which he tried desperately to do as an adult. It didn’t work, and his coping mechanisms left him more broken in heart and spirit.