Michael Jackson 'terrified' Of Jail

4 months ago 05th Jul 09:45

Michael Jackson's former lawyer was "worried he would do something stupid" during his child molestation trial.

Tony Capozzola - who oversaw Michael's defence during the 2005 case - has revealed the late pop icon was terrified of going to jail, and even hinted he would rather kill himself than be imprisoned.

Capozzola said: "He would constantly say, 'Tony, do you think I'm going to jail? I need you to be honest with me.'

"He would break down, his voice would tremble and he'd be sobbing. He never said, 'I'm going to kill myself,' but he said, 'I can't go to jail, I just can't.' He implied that he would have to find another way out.

worried he would do something stupid

"I tried everything to keep his mind away from that, but I was worried he would do something stupid. In court, Michael was completely quiet, the perfect defendant. He wasn't arrogant, he didn't say a word. He just sat there frightened."

Michael - who died of a suspected cardiac arrest last week - was first accused of sexual abuse in 1993 by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, but he settled the case out of court for $22 million.

In 2003, 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo accused the singer of abuse, but this time the case went to trial.

Michael faced a total of 10 charges, including child molestation, intoxicating a minor with alcohol and plotting to hold his family captive.

He denied all charges - and was eventually acquitted of all counts after a five-month trial - but Capozzola claims the stress of the case affected the singing legend's mental health.

Capozzola explained to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "Michael was terrified that he might be convicted and go to jail - that was his worst fear. He called me many, many times after court, he called me late at night. He was very emotional and crying in a lot of the calls, it was a really tough time for him, he was unstable.

"Michael was frightened to be in custody, he knew that if he went to prison as a child molester, terrible things would have happened to him.

"He was scared he would be attacked and even molested by other prisoners. Physically he was very frail and very frightened about that."

The 2003 allegations against Michael were sparked by a TV documentary in which Michael told journalist Martin Bashir he sometimes shared a bed with boys.

Capozzola added even when Michael was in court, he struggled to see what was wrong with his comments.

The lawyer said: "He could not understand society's evil thoughts about him because of his mental set, he was Peter Pan, 'Why do they think I'm evil,' he'd say. 'I don't know why everyone thinks I'm guilty.'