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Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
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By compiled from tbt* wires
Published February 4, 2005
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Somehow, we just can't seem to tear ourselves away from the freak show that is Michael Jackson's life. And this week begins an opportunity to catch it 24/7 on cable, in print and on the Web.
Jackson, who hasn't had a No. 1 song sing 1995's You Are Not Alone , is charged with 10 felony counts of molesting a boy two years ago when he was 13. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted on all 10 counts, he could be sent to prison for 20 years.
He is charged with molesting a then-13-year-old cancer survivor in 2003 and conspiring to hold the boy and his family hostage at Neverland Ranch. He denies all charges.
Here's how the opening two days went:
-- The self-ordained "King of Pop" emerged from a van outside a California courthouse Monday, wearing a dazzling all-white suit ("the color of innocence"), with a bejeweled vest and sunglasses. Several hundred of his fans, including an impersonator known as Navi, cheered as he appeared.
-- On Tuesday, the trial judge, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, said he had a sufficient pool of about 250 prospective jurors willing to sit through the projected six-month trial. Crowd size was down to less than a hundred on the second day, and Jackson's suit was considerably more conservative: a nice black number, with a white vest and a vivid red shirt.
-- Next stage: That would be Monday (2/7), when the prospective jurors will be individually questioned by the defense and the prosecution.
-- Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin and Britney Spears' famous choreographer, Wade Robson, are willing to testify that their pal never molested them during their many childhood sleepovers at Neverland, sources say.
Culkin, who is godfather to Jackson's son, Prince Michael, freely has admitted that he and his brothers slept in Jackson's bed at Neverland, but he says they amused themselves with food fights, not fondling.
[Last modified February 3, 2005, 13:41:33]
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