US: The Michael Jackson jury weighed up the pop star's fate for a third full day yesterday in the California town of Santa Maria as they considered charges of child molestation and conspiracy.
By yesterday evening, the eight-woman, four-man jury had deliberated for more than 19 hours since they were given the case by Judge Rodney Melville on Friday afternoon.
For the third day running, up to 100 fans turned up on Miller Street near the Santa Maria courthouse, some before dawn, hoping to get one of a handful of court seats.
They played Michael Jackson hits on a boom-box and waved placards with slogans such as "Not guilty!" and "King of Pop is innocent!".
Yesterday, several fans kept up a chorus of "Liars! Liars!" towards the media stand where reporters from all over the world have gathered to await the verdict.
His most arduous fans blame the media for helping depict Jackson as a child-molester in reports and documentaries.
The Santa Maria Times noted yesterday that the temporary sight of media crews carrying lighting rigs and camera equipment "gave the site the look of a motion picture production instead of a child-molestation trial".
Jackson (46) has pleaded not guilty to four counts of molesting 13-year-old cancer-survivor Gavin Arvizo in 2003 and four counts of administering alcohol to commit lewd acts with the boy. He has also denied a conspiracy charge involving abduction and false imprisonment of the boy's family, and pleaded not guilty to a single charge of attempted child molestation.
The reclusive singer spent yesterday morning at his Neverland Ranch, a 40-minute drive from Santa Maria, waiting for a summons to return to court to hear the verdict.
Judge Melville has allowed him to wait at home and has given him an hour to return once the jury reports that they have concluded their deliberations.
Yesterday, TV crews and fans were also camped out at the ranch gates, which were draped with broad red and white ribbons and decorated with red paper hearts.
In what has now become a daily routine, the jury is brought to the court in white vans and works from 8.30am to 2.30pm, with three 10-minute breaks. The panel has selected a 63-year-old retired Santa Maria man with two adult children as their foreman.
The Rev Jesse Jackson has been acting as the star's spiritual counsellor and turns up occasionally to brief reporters on his condition, which has visibly deteriorated as the trial drags on.
Michael Jackson is resting but suffering from back pains and "remains amazingly optimistic", said the Rev Jackson, a former Democratic candidate for president who was also prominent as spiritual adviser to the parents of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman who died in April after her feeding tube was removed.
"Michael is very well-embraced through all of this by his supporters throughout the world," the Rev Jackson told reporters outside the courthouse.