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"No one wins here, but the unfortunate tragedy wasn't of AEG's making."
——Marvin Putnam

TALKING HEADS:
THE POST-VERDICT SPIN

Trial Participants Talk Ethics, Competence
and Negligence After Jury Clears AEG

No sooner was the not-guilty verdict in the Michael Jackson wrongful death suit read on Wednesday afternoon than the mouths of various involved parties started flapping. Here’s what various participants had to say about the whole thing:

Katherine Jackson’s attorney: Kevin Boyle: "We think this was a very important case to bring for a lot of reasons We think what we've done with this case is proved some things that are important for the Jackson family and for the concert industry and the sports industry with regard to treatment by doctors. We, of course, are not happy with the result as it stands now, we will be exploring all options legally and factually and make a decision about anything at a later time."

AEG Live’s lead attorney, Marvin Putnam: " AEG didn’t do anything wrong and would not allow themselves to be shaken down. There was never, ever, ever any chance AEG would ever consider settling this matter because that would have been wrong. No one wins here, but the unfortunate tragedy wasn't of AEG's making. What really happened behind those locked doors? That was between Michael Jackson and his physician… There was simply no evidence that anyone at AEG did anything wrong. The win was a great victory for Mr. Phillips in particular, who was personally sued by the Jacksons."

AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, in a statement: "We lost one of the world’s greatest musical geniuses, but I am relieved and deeply grateful that the jury recognized that neither I, nor anyone else at AEG Live, played any part in Michael’s tragic death."

Jury foreman Gregg Barden: "It took the tragic passing of a tremendous father, son and brother for us to even be here. And of course nobody wanted that. We reached a verdict that we understand that not everybody is going to agree with. But the decision was reached after very careful consideration. This was a difficult decision for us to make. It wasn't easy for anyone. Conrad Murray was hired to be a general practitioner. Conrad Murray had a license, he graduated from an accredited college, and we felt he was competent to do the job of being a general practitioner. That doesn't mean we thought he was ethical. If the word 'ethical' was in the question, then there might have been a different outcome. Everyone understood the ramifications...Conrad Murray, in the end, he was very unethical.

Juror No. 9, Kevin Smith: "AEG had no idea what was going on behind closed doors. If they knew, it would have made a world of difference... All along we saw the same pattern, that no one could go upstairs... How could AEG do anything about it if they didn't know what was going on? No one could say no to Michael Jackson or they would have been out."

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