Jackson jurors attack ‘traitors’ in ranks

[b]Jackson jurors attack ‘traitors’ in ranks[/b] VICTORIA WARD ANGRY jurors in the Michael Jackson trial have lashed out at the pair who changed their minds about the verdict and branded the star a paedophile. They said they were stunned to hear Eleanor Cook, 79, and Ray Hultman, 62, say they regretted acquitting the star of child sex abuse. “They’ve become traitors,” one juror, Michael Stevens, 21, said yesterday. A fellow juror, Susan Rentschler, added: “They’ve really changed their tune. I don’t know about Ray, but I think Elly wants attention and she’s trying to sell a book.” Ms Cook and Mr Hultman criticised their fellow jurors on US television on Monday night and said they had been bullied into letting Jackson walk free. “I’m stunned. It’s ridiculous. If you think anyone could tell Elly what to do, then you don’t know Elly,” another juror, who did not want to be identified, was reported as saying. Ms Rentschler, 51, said that when the jury took the first ballot behind closed doors, six voted not guilty, three guilty and three were undecided. “It was not a done deal, by any means,” she said. “Ray actually came over to the ‘not guilty’ side pretty early on. He realised that he could not convict Michael Jackson on his personal feelings alone.” Ms Cook and Mr Hultman both plan to write tell-all books about the “air of hatred” in the jury room and their incredible change of tack two months down the line. Michael Jackson’s lawyer, Tom Mesereau, branded the allegations “laughable”. “They are embarrassing themselves and they are embarrassing the system,” Mr Mesereau said of the pair. … Source: http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1755222005