13 September 2011
Newsdesk
Jermaine Jackson says “prayer and talking” made him cancel plans to smuggle Michael Jackson out of America during his child molestation trial.
Michael was acquitted of all charges following a five-month trial in 2005. Over the weekend Jermaine admitted he considered flying his brother to Bahrain – which has no extradition treaty with America - during the trial as he was concerned the superstar was being set up.
Jermaine has now clarified the remarks, insisting he never said he’d help Michael escape if found guilty.
“After watching my brother being accused of something he didn’t do, [police] storming in his house, tearing up his mattress, handcuffing him for no reason, the judge telling him he’d throw him in jail if he didn’t get back from hospital at a certain time and child services clearing him from the beginning. What am I to think? Are we going to have a true trial or are they on a witch-hunt? So whether I acted rationally or irrationally I had a plan. Before the verdict… because I felt, ‘Look what they’re doing to my brother are they going to treat him fair?’ So I had a plan but then by me praying and talking I said, ‘OK let the trial go on,’” he explained on British TV show This Morning. “Before a verdict, yes that was my plan, as a brother.”
Michael died in 2009 of acute Propofol intoxication. His personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray has been charged with his manslaughter, which he denies. His trial is due to start in two weeks and Jermaine and his family are hoping it will give them closure.
Michael was preparing for his This Is It series of shows when he passed, and Jermaine knew something was wrong when he saw him rehearse.
“This is a question that we all had. I had eyes and ears in the rehearsals a lot of people didn’t see for This Is It. So I know some of the things Michael was being toxic poisoned by - Propofol - his behaviour of them putting this stuff in him…,” he explained.
Jermaine has written a book called You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brother’s Eyes. He hopes reading it will make people think about Michael and understand a lot of what was speculated about him was untrue.
“[The trial] is crazy for my mother. But us as a family we remember the beginnings. All this success is just an illusion. We were born to entertain but not losing the common touch as people, as human beings. All this stuff was said about Michael and it hurt him. We find ourselves coming together even more. Now Michael has passed, we’re broken and really hurt,” he said
“I defy anyone to read this book and not feel that something is not right.”
