Jackson juror now wants out of book deal
9/10/05
By SCOTT HADLY
NEWS-PRESS SENIOR WRITER
"It sounds like he’s flip-flopping again," publisher says
One of the jurors in the Michael Jackson child molestation case who had second thoughts about voting to acquit the pop star now has second thoughts about signing a contract to write a book, filing a lawsuit this week in Santa Maria to get out of the deal.
Ray Hultman, 62, and another juror, Eleanor Cook, 79, have both publicly stated that they believe Mr. Jackson was guilty despite voting with the rest of the jury in June to acquit the star. They made the statements during an interview on MSNBC in which both also announced they were working on separate books about their experiences on the case.
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But in court papers filed this week in Santa Maria, Mr. Hultman alleged that he and his wife, Darlene, were taken in by publisher Larry Garrison. Mr. Garrison "impressed and dazzled (the Hultmans) with his purported fame and achievements so that they would trust him so completely that they would believe virtually anything he said or promoted to them."