Two jurors who cleared Michael Jackson of child sex abuse said they regretted their decision and believed the star was guilty.
Ray Hultman and Eleanor Cook both plan to write tell-all books about the "air of hatred" in the jury room and their change of tack some two months down the line.
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Jackson leaves the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in June after being found not guilty of all charges |
Asked whether she thought the other jurors would be angry, 79-year-old Ms Cook told US television last night: "They can be as angry as they want to. They ought to be ashamed. They're the ones that let a paedophile go."
Mr Hultman (62) also criticised his fellow jurors for the way they approached the case. "I'd say they made the wrong decision," he said.
"The thing that really got me the most was the fact that people just wouldn't take those blinders off long enough to really look at all the evidence that was there."
The pair are among three or four jurors who initially voted that the singer was guilty of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo in an early ballot behind closed jury room doors. They claim they were eventually intimidated into changing their minds.
Mr Hultman said he did not believe Home Alonestar Macaulay Culkin or the other two alleged former victims who testified that they had not been abused by Jackson.
He suggested some of them may have been paid to testify for the defence.
Jackson's lawyer, Tom Mesereau denied the allegations, branding them "embarrassing and outrageous".
Ms Cook said there was no doubt in her mind that Gavin Arvizo was molested and even suggested he had enjoyed being Jackson's "toy". She said she regretted letting the singer walk free but had no other option and had done the best she could in the circumstances.
Eleanor Cook
"I really think he is a danger to young boys and it breaks my heart," she said.
Mr Hultman s aid it was not until the 12 jurors began their deliberations that things turned nasty. He admitted he thought Jackson was a serial child molester and called on him to get help.
He said he found it "inconceivable" that one of their fellow jurors had attended a celebration party thrown by Jackson's family after the trial.
Jackson was unanimously acquitted of 10 felony and four misdemeanour charges relating to the alleged abuse of Arvizo on June 13th. The prosecution cannot appeal against the verdict.
AP